


Of The Moon and Sun : A Beginning

by Eishexe



Category: Twilight (Movies), Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-05
Updated: 2012-12-13
Packaged: 2017-11-20 08:36:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 26,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/583358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eishexe/pseuds/Eishexe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>-COMPLETE- One hundred and fifty years is a long time for humans, but nearly a blink of an eye for those who are immortal. Its amazing the peace and quiet one comes to expect when danger has been minimal for so long...and then...the phone rings. - All cannon pairings. Post Breaking Dawn.<br/></p><div class="center">
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            </blockquote>





	1. Phone Call of the Century

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: No I don't own Twilight/New Moon/Eclipse/Breaking Dawn but I love living in their world.
> 
> Beta'd by idealskeptic. Please visit her page on FF.net at : http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1205456/idealskeptic

Chapter 1

Phone Call of the Century

-Carlisle-

It is quiet in the house. The piano lies still, the TV is not blaring. No shrill shrieks of anger or fits of booming laughter. Bella is not on the porch reading her favorite book, like usual. No choir of voices to greet me home. _The children are out hunting,_ I remember. It is a peaceful change from the hospital. No one yelling my name, no grinding sounds of gurneys being pushed at high speeds down the hallways and no crying sobs of the loved ones left behind. Yes, I am home and I take a moment to enjoy it. The silence is minimally broken by the smallest of sounds. Human ears would never have perceived it. I grin at the small reminder.

Following the sound through the foyer, passing the large living room I notice a board game has been left strewn about on the floor by the fire place. I will have to scold them for that. They know better than to leave things lying around. It drives Esme quite crazy. I shake my head knowing full well it is my granddaughter that is guilty of the small crime. I chuckle. The likely hood of Renesmee "catching any grief", as Emmett would say, is very slim to none. Turning towards the sound again I move off down the hall way to the sitting area near the kitchen. Peering out the large wall length windows that overlooks the backyard, I smile again. _Ah. There she is._ I think. She has not gone with the children as we had gone the night before. 

She is a beautiful creature, though somehow even more so when she is working in her garden. She tends to it like it is her child. And, on some level, I guess it is. Our granddaughter has been grown for years now and no longer needs to be fussed over as she once did. I watch as she gently moves the newest addition into her paradise; a small frail looking plant, which Alice gave her yesterday. She smiles as she slowly packs the dirt in around the roots. _Always the green thumb,_ I muse tearing myself away from the nurturing sight. I will leave her to her gardening for the moment.

Wandering off through the empty house again, I find myself drawn to my study. I spend most of my time here when I am home. Sitting down at my desk I pick up the morning newspaper. I left too early this morning to read it. Alice must have seen the paper delivery would be delayed and left it for me to find. I chuckle, there is nothing she ever misses. I sigh, pulling open the newspaper and began my scanning. Nothing unusual is occurring. Things have been relatively quiet lately, as they should be for a sleepy little town like Forks. The one thing that does catch my eye is the announcement of winter break from school. I chuckle again. The children will be home for three straight weeks. Esme will be even more beside herself than she already is. With Renesmee and Jacob taking classes at the Fork's community college this year, the house is extra full.

Re-folding the paper I set it aside and lean back, swiveling my chair around to face the large open windows that are behind me. I scan the forest that spreads out before me like a blanket of green and white. It is beautiful here, of all the places we have lived over the years, I have to admit that Forks is my favorite. It has truly changed little, if it has changed at all. New faces, different life style; but all in all Forks was still Forks and probably will be for a long time after this. No one here remembers us, we erased ourselves from their lives, their records and their memories.

One hundred and fifty years is a long time for humans and even werewolves, but the Quileute's memory is long. Jacob had naturally gone to check on his tribe, well their decedents anyway, shortly after our return here. The meeting had been awkward, the now leader of the tribe; Ephraim Lahote was not a trusting man. Only after a few visits and Jacob showing his other side to Ephraim and the other elders did they believe him. Caleb Uley had voiced his concerns of course but Ephraim would hear none of it. I expect trouble may come from the man one day but Alice has given no sign to seeing him a threat. Ephraim and the other elders had immediately promised Jacob the treaty would be up held as it once had. And so here we are, able to remain for at least the next four to eight years.

I wonder how far the children have gone this time. Their quarry will most likely be keeping to the mountains. It is the middle of winter; the animals will still be hibernating. Turning back to my desk, I rub my temples, more out of habit than necessity. I sigh again and swivel in my chair. Leaning over, I pull open a thin compartment beneath the filing drawer of the desk. Carefully removing a thick leather bound book from the drawer's shallow depths, I take note that I will need to find a better hiding place for its size soon. Too many life times between the pages. Lifting open the cover, I breathe in the scent it casts off. For some reason I have always loved the smell of aged paper and ink, even as a human. I gently turn to the first page, it is covered with pictures of Esme and I. There is a collage and in the center of it there is a picture yellowed with age. I trace the centuries old note written below the photograph. "Carlisle and Esme – 1921". I move on through the pages, reliving every moment captured on film. The first time Esme had redecorated the house, and the time she realized she liked to garden. The first time Edward played her favorite sonata on the ivory piano she had bought him, The family portrait Alice had been adamant we take.

I do not need these pictures to remind me of the events but they are nice to have anyway. I know that Alice has a much more detailed album of the family's life. It is the one thing we keep with us. The one thing that remains the same, beside ourselves of course. Emmett had complained when we moved back here about all the boxes he and Jasper had to unload that were full of nothing but picture albums. I laugh, remembering Alice had silenced her brother with a sudden close up shot and blinded him for the next several minutes. My phone vibrates, pulling me from my reverie and I quickly pick it up.

"Dr. Cullen," I answer out of habit.

"Uh…yes...M-mr. C-Cul….Doctor Cullen, forgive me. Hello." A rather shaken voice replies. I immediately recognized the thick British voice. It is Henri, my family's attorney. _What could he want?_ I wonder as he continues.

"Forgive me for disturbing you, sir, but I have received a rather urgent request. A certain Madam Beaumont called a few moments ago, asking for you personally. She stated it was a family matter and to tell you that your presence is being requested at her home in New Orleans. Madam Beaumont left her number sir, will you need it?"

"No. Please call her back on my behalf and let her know I will be arriving shortly," I order.

"Yes, sir. Absolutely, sir. As always, please call if you need my assistance." And with that Henri hangs up. Flipping my cell phone shut, I return the album to its drawer and leave my study quickly, speeding soundlessly down the stair case. No doubt my wife will assume I have been called back to the hospital and the children will not be home for hours yet. I take my keys from their place by the door and slip outside. The sun is just setting behind the cloud bank as I slide into the driver's seat of my car and start the engine. I look once and then accelerate out of the drive way. I hope that the decision to leave has been made too quickly for Alice to have much foresight of it but I doubt it. My mind races faster than I am driving. We have not spoken in centuries. We made a deal with each other before I left her company. We were never to contact each other unless we had no other choice, no other way out. What had happened? What has gone so terribly wrong that she needs me? _Speed Carlisle._ I remind myself. _Watch your speed._


	2. Fight Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: No I don't own Twilight/New Moon/Eclipse/Breaking Dawn but I love living in their world.
> 
> Beta'd by idealskeptic. Please visit her page on FF.net at : http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1205456/idealskeptic

Chapter 2: Fight Night

-Emmett-

_Where is Carlisle going?_ I wonder as the house comes into view from the woods.

"No idea." My brother Edward answers beside me. "He's focused on the speedometer….Esme's wondering where he's off to too…"

"Something's wrong…" my older brother Jasper pipes up from my other side. 

I stare off after my father, feeling my eyebrows knit. It isn't like him to just take off without telling anyone. Not like him at all. _Maybe they had a fight?_ When Carlisle and Esme fight, which of course is only once every few decades, he will still tell one of us where he is going. But then we are usually present to be told. If something bad happened we would know about it. Alice would have told us, but maybe this is why Alice had sent the three of us home early. She didn't want Esme to be alone. Still, I did not like the feeling creeping into my chest and stomach. Jasper is right. Something is wrong.

"Let's not jump to conclusions. Esme's thinking about her flowers, she never gardens when she's angry." Edward rebuffs. "Come on, we better formally announce we're home."

I shrug but do not move. Something in me wants me to run after Carlisle's car. Pick up the back end of it to keep him from going any farther until he tells me what is wrong. Just when I decided to do just that, Edward's musical voice floats down from the porch and I feel a hand on my arm and, with it, calmness. I tear my eyes from the road and sigh. _Jasper._ I will snap at him later for stopping me. Once I gain control of my emotions again.

"No Em, come on Esme's been alone all day. She's starting to worry." Edward calls over his shoulder.

I let Jasper herd me into the house. I can hear Esme humming something under her breath and the clipping sound of sheers. Just as Edward said, she is outside working in her garden. She is pruning her bushes along the cobblestone path that runs the length of the yard. I will never understand what joy she finds in that. But Esme is Esme.

"Esme!" Jasper calls, disappearing into the kitchen. I realize I've been standing in the middle of the hallway, feeling awkward I move to lean against the wall by the kitchen door. At first Esme acts as though she hasn't heard. I know better than that of course. A moment later she turns, sighing contently and answers.

"Yes, Jasper?"

"Where did Carlisle run off too?" Jasper asks, poking his head back through the door, in front of me. His curly blonde hair bounces with his movement and I smirk. _Wow he has such a Shirley Temple look going._ I think, somewhere in the direction of Edward and Bella's room upstairs I hear the smallest of snorts. Rolling my eyes and focus back on my mother. She has stopped in the door way beside me, her eyebrows furrowing as Jasper moves off to sit at the breakfast table.

"I'm not sure." She replies, sliding over to the sink to rid her hands of dirt. "I heard him come in and then leave a little while later. Something came up at the hospital most likely. You know how he forgets to let the rest of us know sometimes."

 _Probably._ I think. _Ah, I wish the girls would get home._

"They should be home soon." Edward offers, sliding down the banister of the stair case behind me, letting the momentum carry him into kitchen. "Nessie could not stand to let that Cougar get away."

I chuckle. _Wonder where she gets that from?_

Edward shoots me a snide look, picking up a peanut, from the basket on the counter beside him, and hurling it at me. I catch it and flick it back at him, hitting him square between the eyes.

 _HaHa! And the Grizzley Man strikes again! Grizzley Man 1 Cat Boy 0!_ I all but scream mentally at him. Of course being Edward, he ignores my attempt at pulling him into a wrestling match. Before I can egg him further a clear pixie like voice fills the house.

"Boys! Esme! We're home!" Alice called.

I could not help but burst out laughing. Jasper had been spinning the bowl of fruit from the breakfast table on his finger but lost concentration at Alice's announcement and then spent the next 12 seconds making sure none of the fruit, nor the bowl, went crashing to the floor. By the time he recovers, Alice is beside him saving the last apple from a smashed fate. She giggles and pats him softly on the head. Jasper's face is hysterical. His eyes grow wider than usual and his mouth falls open, almost has if he is about to start panting. I feel his surprise and raging need and shifted uncomfortably, trying to focus on the mosaic cracks in the kitchen ceiling. _Damn it, Jasper._ I think. _Stop!_ From the far end of the counter Edward makes a gagging sound.

"Jasper, do you mind?" he growls glaring through the spaces in Bella's hair.

"That wasn't me!" Jasper snaps, glaring horridly at Bella, who grins devilishly. I can't help it, I breakup. My laughter booms through the house. I jump slightly a second later, when Rose tackles me from behind. I didn't even hear her approach, too preoccupied with trying to ignore Jasper's, well Bella's, unbridled lust. It had only been mere hours that we were apart, but Rose makes it seem like days. _Who am I kidding?_ I think. I missed her just as much. I reach behind me and planted both my broad hands in the back pockets of her jeans and pull us out of the door way and into the kitchen. Within inches of my nose a dark haired body flies passed. A second later sliding over the kitchen table, missing Jasper and Alice by inches, through the open bay windows, across the wide backyard, and sticks firmly into a large oak tree at the far end.

Bewildered, all of us, Alice excepted, turn our heads in the direction from which the flying object had come. Realization kicks in. There stands my niece, her chocolate eyes glowing with anger, clenching and unclenching her fists. The flying object I deduce had been one Jacob Black. I notice Jasper cringe, shifting his position at the table. _What did the wolf do this time?_ Nessie is beside Rose and me a moment later, snarling loudly.

"Jacob, I hate you! You are careless, insensitive, possessive and utterly ridiculous! I can be friends with anyone I want! You are not the boss of me, Jacob Black!" Renesmee yells. From the tree across the backyard comes the retort.

"Careless? Insensitive?" Jacob snaps back, dislodging himself and hurrying back towards the house. He vaults back through the window and draws up to his full height in front of her. "You're the one that got carried away. Just because everyone picks on him doesn't give you the right to toy with him!"

"Oh, so now it's suddenly about his feelings?" she offers sarcastically, poking him repeatedly in the chest. "I am NOT toying with him. I am being his friend. Something no one else in that closed minded little school will do. You included! You only ever think of yourself!"

"That's a lie and you know it!" He counters, poking her in the forehead with his finger. Nessie's eyes flashed again, as she stands up straight and grabs the wolf boy by the shirt, pulling him down to her level.

"Whoa!" Edward warns, but Nessie isn't having it. She glares at him, before turning back to Jacob.

"You. Will. Not. Call. Me. A. Liar." She all but spit the words at him. "Alex is a kind person and a wonderful friend. Unknown to you he knows we're together and respects that. Unknown to you he is not interested in me. Unknown to you he is more alone here in Forks than anyone, us included. Unknown to you Alex is so in love with Kelly Newton he would make Jasper dizzy from three miles away. You want to know why everyone picks on him and treats him horribly? He's SHY, you bull-headed idiot! I should rip you to shreds for what you did to him! I hugged him! He finally got the nerve up and asked Kelly out and she said yes, you moron! I was congratulating him! Your actions are completely UNFORGIVABLE."

Renesemee draws back a fraction of an inch taking Jacob with her and hurls him back out the window again.

"You never think,Jacob!" She screams. I hear a small cracking sound from the living room. _Oh please don't let that be the TV!_ I think. It would be the fourth one in the last year. I try not to grimace as I tune back in to my niece's rant. "Don't come near Alex again or so help me I will turn you into a living room rug! DO YOU HEAR ME? YOU LEAVE ALEX ALONE! Go near him again and I'll crucify you in front of the entire campus! LITERALLY!"

With a huff and another loud snarl Nessie spins on her heals and stalks back the way she came muttering curses. Bella and Edward move as one towards the stairs, leaving the rest of us in stunned silence. No one moves, hell we all even forgot to act like we were breathing. Calming waves crash over us. Even Jasper had been caught so off guard he hadn't thought to defuse the situation.

"Well I um…yea didn't see that coming…" Alice mumbled breaking the thick silence, as Jasper gently squeezed her into a sideways hug.

"What… the hell…just happened?" Rose demands.

"Your niece is being a bitch!" Jacob answers, dislodging himself from another tree at the far end of the yard.

"Oh no! NOT THE SHOES!" Alice yelps dashing up the stairs.

"GO! JUMP! OFF! A! CLIFF! " Nessie screeches from her bedroom window. Suddenly brightly colored objects start pummeling Jacob from every direction. Shoes. I realize, booming with laughter again

A moment later thuds and similar screeching of the two girls can be heard a floor above us. Jasper gives me a sideways glance, and I know without words what he meant. My laughter dies in my throat as I detach myself from Rose, and catch up to Jasper at the window. We jump together blocking Jacob from entering through the window again. Ness needs her space, and Jacob has a very bad habit of not comprehending this. I want nothing more than to beat him senseless for upsetting her so much, but the fates it seems have other plans.

"BOYS!" Esme's clear commanding voice, comes from the kitchen. "I think that's enough damage to my yard for one day! Emmett, Jasper, come inside. Jacob, if you know what's best, you will give her time to cool off."

I growl menacingly at the wolf one final time before following Jasper inside. Esme shut the bay windows behind us as Jacob dejectedly walks off into the woods.


	3. The Premonition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: No I don't own Twilight/New Moon/Eclipse/Breaking Dawn but I love living in their world.
> 
> Beta'd by idealskeptic. Please visit her page on FF.net at : http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1205456/idealskeptic

  


Chapter 3 :

The Premonition

-Renesmee-

I am so angry, I know if my blood could run any hotter it would be. I rush up the stairs, passing my aunts' and uncles' rooms in a blur to the end of the hall. I climb a second set of stairs, which winds up into the ceiling. I kick the door open hard enough to send it bouncing off the wall and slamming shut again behind me on its own. I glide across my room, and all but throw myself on the goose down bed. Jacob can be such an ass. His possessiveness over me is really starting to get annoying. I need to at the least call Alex and make sure he is ok. I know the punch didn't do life threatening damage, Jacob knows better than to use his full strength on humans, but still. The audacity he displayed. Hitting one of _my_ friends! And breaking his nose! What gives him the right? Nothing does. Imprint or not he has no business telling me who I can and cannot be friends with. A quiet knock alerts me to visitors. I take a calming deep breath. _Mom and Dad._ I groan silently.

_Please go away._ I think knowing my father can hear me. _I need me time._

A second later I hear my father's voice and my mother's aggravated hiss but they do as I ask. They know when to leave me to myself. I sigh, rubbing my temples as the anger ebbs away slowly. I will most likely apologize later for the hurtful words; but Jacob has to get it through his head. I am going to have friends outside of this house. Besides it helps us fit in more. _Fit._ I roll my eyes. _Speaking of fitting._ My mind settles around the idea that Jacob can never be with anyone else. That whether I want him or not, he can never love anyone but me, even if he gets the wild idea to try. But what about me? What if something happens? What if I fall in love with someone else? It isn't impossible, is it? Did this imprint thing work both ways? It's true that it's strange and even impossible to picture my life without the furball in it, but damn it he makes me so mad at times! I groan again, turning over on my stomach. I wish Grandpa was here. He always knows what to tell me. I stretch running my fingers through my waist length hair. It falls in showers around my shoulders. A small smile reaches my lips, remembering several decades ago when Alice attempted to cut my hair at my request. The scissors had snapped in half. _Forever frozen._ I muse. With the constant bickering with Jacob, forever is starting to seem pretty glum.

I stare at the twin doors that led to the small balcony. Jacob built it for us. He calls it "our escape route". I grind my teeth. None of that right now. I'm mad at him and I'm going to stay mad for a while. I rise from my undignified position on the bed and harshly push the doors open. That's when I hear it.

"You're niece is being a bitch!" Jacob yells across the yard. My anger lights anew at the fact he is still present. I growl with irritation, running to my closet and back to the balcony in less than a second, dumping my artillery at my feet. Taking careful aim so as not to harm my grandmother's garden, I unleash hell on my unsuspecting target.

"GO! JUMP! OFF! A! CLIFF!" I scream, continuing to throw my collection of high heels at him. From somewhere in the direction of the kitchen I hear a yelp, something inaudible even for hearing such as mine. And then Alice is on top of me a second later pulling me back into the confines of my room.

"Not the shoes!" She shrieks. "For my sake, Nessie, not the shoes!"

"Oh let go of me!" I screech back, pushing her off and heading back for the door. Rearing back to continue the onslaught, I stop short. My uncles have Jacob blocked from entering the house again;. Jasper's stance mirroring my anger. I took odd pleasure in the sight. _One of you smack him into next week!_ I plead silently. But it is not to be. My grandmother's silver voice rings out from the kitchen window. Jazz and Em take a few steps back before leaping back into the kitchen out of sight. I huff, contemplating hurling one last shoe at Jacob's retreating back, when the smallest of thuds reach my ears.

I should have wondered why, no second attempt to pull me back had come. I turn in the direction of the sound and go stiff, my anger dying in my chest. Alice is sitting by my dresser, her eyes un-focused.

"Alice?" I squeak, dashing to her side. No answer comes. I grasp her arms gently, to let her know I'm there, but let go with a yelp. Her skin is hotter than Jacob's! The burn in my palms fades almost instantly and I place my hands on her shoulders, expecting the pain this time. My mind reels, I can't help but to snatch my hands away a second time. _What is going on?!_ I think, noticing just how bright and translucent her skin is becoming. _As if she is burning up from the inside out!_

"Oh…" Alice whispers, her face unreadable.

I scream for Jasper, knowing he is already on his way. My uncle plows into the room, the rest of the family right behind him. He flies to us, wrapping her in a tight embrace before I can warn him. Jasper snarls, the pain and confusion burst from him like a nuclear bomb. But unlike me, he didn't not let go. The burning light beneath Alice's skin shutters as if fighting the will to go out. In a rush it leaves Alice behind, engulfing every inch of his body. His skin is glowing like an over powered florescent light bulb, right before it explodes from the pressure. The mood changes to panic. Dad moves forward, knowing before anyone else. It isn't that Jasper won't let go. It is that he can't. Before Dad and Emmett could even try to pry him lose they are all flung backward. My eyes squeeze shut as Jasper crashes into me, sending us flying onto my bed, and it gives way with a loud crack!

When I look up, Emmett is dislodging his leg from my bedroom wall, and my father is picking himself up from the shattered remains of my closet. I glance down, aware of the weight that still rests there. Jasper is sprawled out on top of me, unmoving. I sit up, shifting him onto the broken mattress. His chest rises and falls in short movements, like he is struggling to breathe. His mouth is moving rapidly, as if speaking, but no sound comes, and his eyes are black as coal; completely unfocused. My stomach sinks. His face, neck and hands...there are cracks everywhere. Like bludgeoned marble and every inch of his bare skin is burning white hot. I gasp, setting his head in my lap, the burning sensation is dull now. I don't know what to do. My parents rush to me, helping to remove the debris that has settled on top of us. I warn them not to touch him, but Dad already seems to know. He grabs my mother's wrist just before she can take Jasper's limp hand and holds her firmly beside him. I don't bother to notice my mom's reaction to being so suddenly jerked away. But if I know my mom, my dad is going to get an earful later. I shake Jasper, calling his name, but he remains unchanged. His lips moving so fast now they are blurring. Something is wrong. Very, very wrong. Nothing can knock a vampire stupid can it? I mean, Emmett, Jasper and Dad get into wrestling matches all the time on hunting trips. I'd seen Jasper take a full size tree to the head once, only to snap back and send Emmett flying fifty feet into a river.

"Mom?" My voice is raspy. My mother shakes her head, she didn't know what to make of it either. "Dad?"

His head is turned to the side as if listening intently to something he can barely hear. But the confused expression on his face, answers my question. Nothing. He can't hear Jasper's thoughts. So either vampires can be knocked stupid or...no, he is breathing his lips are moving. I look back to Alice. She is the same as I'd found her, though the light beneath her skin is gone. The alabaster tone returned to normal. Esme sits beside her. I can literally feel my grandmother's want to hold her but she didn't dare.

"What the hell is goi..." Emmett's outburst is cut short.

"Carlisle…" Alice whispered, portraying the smallest hint of sadness as her skin grew paler by the second. "Oh no…oh no nonono no….."

"Rosalie, call your father!" My grandmother orders, before taking Alice's hand, tentatively.

"On it!" Rosalie replies, her fingers sliding across her phone much too fast for even me to detect. A moment later she throws it to the floor, shattering it. "No answer."

"No, Rosalie, I'll go. I'm the fastest." My father pipes, turning to head for the garage.

"No, Dad. I am." I correct him, lifting Jasper's head and setting it back on the pillow my mother has placed there. Before she or my dad can argue, I am out the door, in my car, and down the driveway. If there is one thing I inherited from my father, it is his speed.

Jacob is opening the driver's door by the time I pull into a parking space at the hospital. I growl angrily at him. I didn't have time for his nonsense. He doesn't say a word, but does what he is best at. Falls in behind me like a good dog. I roll my eyes. I really dp not need this right now. A sudden pain of guilt shoots through me. I have been so worried about Aunt Alice and Uncle Jasper I have completely forgotten about Alex. I promise myself I will call him later. Walking in through the sliding doors of the ER, I march right up to the nurse's station. I recognize the women stationed there immediately. She is newly out of nursing school and looking for any way she can to please. _What is her name?_ I think searching for the name tag. _Oh yea. Jenny Newton, Kelly Newton's mom._

"Renesemee, what are you doing here?"She asks, looking up from her paper work, with surprise. "Oh goodness, you're not hurt are you?"

"No. Where is my gr...father?" I reply, catching myself. I hear the faintest of snorts behind me. It takes everything in me not to twirl around and send him flying back through the doors we just entered.

"Oh dear, he left, sweetheart, probably about an hour or so go; said he was going home," Mrs. Newton answers. My eyes knit at her answer. I thank her and run, but not too quickly, back out to my car. Jacob is right behind me. I unlock the doors and wave at him to get in. He complies and we race back towards home. _Where is he? The only three places Grandpa is ever sure to be is the hospital, home or hunting; and he hunted just yesterday._ My thoughts were interrupted by Jacob's low voice.

"What's wrong?" he asks.

"Alice had a vision and now Jasper's hurt!" I reply icily. "I've never seen her do anything like this Jacob. She flung Emmett, Dad, and Jasper across the room. It happened so fast I didn't even see her do it! She was still dazed when I left."

"Jasper?" he questions, his tone is even, almost uncaring. But I know better.

"I don't...I don't know." I sigh.

"I'm sorry." he mumbles; then after a moment. "And I'm sorry about Alex too. I know he is just your friend and I'm sorry I lost my temper. It's just I came around the corner and you were...in his arms...I snapped…"

I sigh again, rubbing the back of my neck, making the slight adjustment to the wheel to change lanes. I glance over at my passenger. The windows of the cold car are already fogging due to the combined heat of our bodies. I turn on the defroster. For as much as he annoys, enrages and confuses me, he is the only one that knows me inside and out; backwards and forwards. For as many friends as I have made decade after decade none of them would be around forever. Jacob is my best friend, my soul mate and who am I to argue with that? If there is one thing that Jacob is good at it is apologizing. I groan reaching over and roughly ruffling his hair. Mom told me it had once been very long. Jacob had grown it out to his shoulders again but chopped it a decade back. I smirked, it had partially been my idea. I hadn't much cared for his long locks, it always seemed to block my view of his face.

"I forgive you." I mutter shifting gears. "But only if you promise to apologize to Alex."

Jacob stiffens a little, and then nods his head. I pull back into the driveway. Jumping out without bothering to pull into the garage, I freeze. There stands my beautiful Aunt Rosalie, leaning against the column of the front porch. I feel my stomach lurch. Something happened while we were gone. I can feel my aunt's calculating worry even from here. Jacob follows me cautiously, his head still hung in shame.

"Aunt Rosalie?" I breathe wrapping her in a hug. "What is it?"

"They are awake. Alice is...herself, but Jasper...Emmett had to carry him downstairs to his room. He's too... too weak to even speak. I don't understand how that's possible." she struggles. "Ness, it wasn't Alice that pitched the boys across the room. She never even touched them. Come on, she wanted to wait until you and Jacob got back before she explained what she thinks happened."

Jacob and I hurry after her, zipping up the stairs and joining the others in Alice and Jasper's room. Jasper looks better than when I left. His eyes are faintly honey gold again and he smiles tiredly at us in greeting. Relief rests thickly in the air. Rosalie hands off the glass of red liquid she'd been carrying and Alice helps Jasper drink it. His skin grows a richer shade of ivory and I felt the energy the heated animal blood had afforded him.

"Where is your grandfather?" My grandmother asks, as my dad disappears this time to retrieve more blood for Jasper.

"I don't know. He wasn't at the hospital." I answer. "The nurse said that he left hours ago."

I take up the space opposite Alice on the bed beside my uncle, Jacob comes to sit at my feet. Alice hops up, pacing the length of the bed and back again before turning to us, confusion written all over her face. Jasper's eyebrows furrow and his arm twitches, frustration ripping the peaceful relief apart. I place my hand on his shoulder. _It's alright._ I tell him. He smiles half-heartily. Alice bounces back to him a second later taking his hand in hers.

"This vision is unlike anything I've experienced. It is dark, I am inside, lying down. The ceiling of the house is wooden and worn. It is pleasantly warm where I am. Then fear, screaming, my vision is jostled. The fear turns into anger and it is as if I am on fire. I can see nothing, hear nothing, do nothing but burn," Alice states. "Then suddenly I am released, standing outside the house I was in before, it is engulfed in the flames. The loss I feel is unbearable. Shadowed figures escape through an open window and out onto the cobblestone street. One is burdened with something, what it is I cannot see…I wish to follow them but everything fades. It is dark, damp, and smells like death. Then pain again, indescribable pain, lose, confusion, anguish, then nothing again. Things shift I…I see …Carlisle. A light brighter than the sun engulfs him…it takes him, and he is not afraid he is...at peace. And the vision repeats, the emotions of it tripling in power every time it is repeated. I do not know of any other way to explain it."

No one speaks. I hear someone shift their weight behind me. _Emmett._ I assume. I feel Jacob shift as well, and I rest my hand on his head. I am not sure what to think of this. The light took Grandpa? How could that happen? Sunlight isn't deadly, it just leaves my family exposed to others. I turn to look at my grandmother. Rosalie moves to her side and puts a comforting arm about her mother's shoulders. My grandmother's face is unreadable. Her poker face, as Emmett has come to call it, has slid into place. Even now with Grandpa in possible eminent danger she does not allow us to see her fear; able to hide it from everyone but one. I feel as Jasper washes wave after wave of comfort and calmness over us, though it is not as strong as usual.

"Is anyone going to explain what happened in my bed room?" I snap abruptly.

"Emotional overload." Alice says quickly, almost too quickly. "Jasper saw it coming, its why he got between you and I, so he could take the brunt of it. It happened once a long time ago."

"Alice, you and Jasper both were burning hot to the touch." I insist. "You were lit up like light bulbs!"

"Were we?" she replies wistfully. "I don't remember that..."

"I...do not remember that either." Jasper mutters, trying to sit up but only managing to slide sideways towards Alice. She shakes her head righting him back on his pillows.

"Do you think the reason that you can't see the outcome fully is because it has something to do with Jacob?" My father asks, derailing my argument, as he hands Alice, Jasper's fifth glass of sustenance. Dad knows something. Alice does too. I might be the youngest but I am not stupid. I know when I am being lied to.

"I am not for sure, but I think not. There are no holes in the vision." Alice replies gently, balancing the glass on her fingertips, allowing Jasper an attempt to hold it on his own. "No black empty spaces, the vision just stops. Like whoever's decisions these events effect hasn't gotten that far yet. I can't explain it any other way."

"Dad, what do you think?" I ask, not looking up. There comes no response. I turn my head to look over my shoulder. My father is standing in his place behind my mom; his face hidden in her chestnut hair.

"We need to find Carlisle, and the form a strategy from there." He finally answers, bringing his face into view, the corner of his mouth twitching ever so slightly. I growl mentally. _You're not telling us something_...I huff, scowling at him.

"Oh!" Alice squeaks squeezing Jasper's hand, staring off into oblivion. "Louisiana. We need to get to Louisiana quickly. It's where Carlisle is headed. I promise everything will be explained when we get there. Esme?"

My grandmother snaps into action. Ordering Emmett to carry Jasper down to the car because she is not about to let him break her stairs if he collapses. Rosalie and my mother are sent off to ensure the emergency bags are in order and move them to the chosen cars. While Jacob and I are told to make sure the tanks are topped off. We each sped off to our assignments. I am still fuming that my dad and Alice are not telling us everything. But Jasper's repeated protests that he can easily make it down the stairs on his own is to amusing not to laugh. I hear Jake chuckle beside me and my smile widens a little.

It has been hard on him and my family, living together for over a century but I like to think it is getting easier. Even Rosalie (after she had realized she could bake about 20 years ago and was actually quite good at it) found some small place in her icy heart for Jake. Mostly because when she makes cookies, Jacob will hover in the kitchen doorway and wait. No matter how long she draws out the process of making them, he will wait. And then juggle the smoldering things, three of them at once, as soon as she has placed them out to cool. I don't think she truly means the scolding she always gives him anymore and if she does, she doesn't mean it to be hateful. Rosalie is a puzzle alright, but once you carve out your place in her heart, you stay there. No matter what.

Twenty minutes later, with Jasper's growing annoyance and anger weighing heavily around us, we are ready to go. We will stop just outside Jackson, Wyoming to take advantage of Yellowstone. Alice said it will be the only place its raining between here and where we are going. Jasper shifts in his seat in front of me, I can feel the pain and utter anger at how weak he feels. He is trying desperately to lift his hand for the glass Alice is holding, but she is too quick. She lifts it to his lips and he drinks deeply; as if he hasn't fed in months. Jacob hands me another bottle from the cooler Rose and my mother packed. The blood is still a little warm to the touch but I don't want to think about how it probably tastes. But Jasper seems to be downing it easily, almost greedily, probably because it is better than nothing. I empty the bottle quickly into the glass Alice is holding out, screwing the lid back on and throwing it over my head into the back along with the others. Jasper tries to lift his hand again to take the glass on his own but Alice bats it away and it falls with a rather loud "thud" on his lap.

"Every once in a while you need to let me take care of you." she hissed playfully.

I feel Jasper's smile, I think everyone in the car does. Alice fingers a strand of his hair from his face and kisses him softly on the cheek. I smile sadly. I hope one day Jacob and me would have that deep of a connection. That complete and utter understanding of each other, being able to communicate without speaking. I just hope it won't take much longer. I sit back with a huff, focusing my sight on the landscape speeding by. This is going to be a very long ride to Wyoming.

We are clear of the woods now, and racing through Forks. We pass Alex's house, like quick lightening but I still have enough time to listen in. He is complaining to his mom about going to California for Winter Break. I bite my lip. How did I forget? He had been whining about it all week. He didn't want to go but his mom is dead set on them spending some vacation time together. Family Bonding. He said she called it. I push Alex from my mind; there are far more important things to deal with right now. I glance behind me. My grandmother, Emmett and Rosalie are right on our tails.

"Nessie?" Alice's feather like voice floats around me. I turn back to meet her humored gaze. "Jasper says relax. Or he'll be forced to waste his energy on making you."

I swallow thickly, and settled myself next to Jacob. I focus on his warmth, how his muscle tenses every time my dad rounds a corner a little too fast for his comfort. He is trying to be calm, like the rest of us. I can sense it. I smile to myself. Jacob has grown to care about my family even if he doesn't want to admit it.

I feel the car down shift as it comes to a stop. One red light away from the interstate, I snort a little. I haven't even noticed our progress. I look over at Jacob again, he is still in the same position. Smiling, I force my hand into his clenched fist. _Calm down, you're going to give yourself a heart attack, and Jasper doesn't need the extra tension._ He takes a deep breath and pushes it through his nose. As soon as the light is green, my father floors the gas pedal again. Once on the ramp I feel the car pick up a fraction more speed. We will be in Wyoming in mere hours.

Alice said Grandpa is alright, but whatever it is that my dad and aunt are not telling us, gnaws at me. What didn't they trust the rest of us to know? I bite my lip and I try to drown my rising anxiety. My father shifts slightly in the front seat and I smirk. _I know there's something you and Alice are not telling us, Dad. And I am not going to let it go._ His eyes shift to the rear view mirror and I glare back.

Jacob snakes his arm behind me wrapping me in his extra warmth. I smile, turning away from the staring contest. I rest my head on his shoulder, releasing my aggravation, if only for Jazz's sake. Jake's head lulls to the side, lying heavily atop my own. I feel a small ripple of peace tickle my senses and I reach forward patting Jasper's curls.

_Thanks, Jazz._ My thankfulness trailing back into him. Scolding him for using his gift is like scolding my father for listening to conversations with yourself. I sigh focusing myself on Jacob again. I detect his light snoring and I muffle a giggle. Stressed or not, being at the will of my father's driving or not, he can fall asleep anywhere. I stifle a small yawn and snuggle deeper into his side. Any doubt that my angered mind processed earlier is gone. Jacob is mine, and I belong with no one other than him. Before sleep takes me I swear I hear my father chuckle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!!


	4. No Time For The Weak

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: No I don't own Twilight/New Moon/Eclipse/Breaking Dawn but I love living in their world.
> 
> Beta'd by idealskeptic. Please visit her page on FF.net at : http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1205456/idealskeptic

Chapter 4 :

No Time for the Weak

-Jasper-

Weakness, becomes pain. Pain becomes panic. Panic becomes anger. Anger becomes fear. Fear becomes weakness. The circle never breaks. Focusing myself to study the lining of the seat in front of me, I vainly try to push my emotions into the inanimate object. But it does little good. I feel drained, and my eyes slide shut on their own. What is this I am feeling? Tiredness? Is that what this is? I take a mental check of my extremities for the 128th time since I became aware of my surroundings again; sprawled out in the middle of Nessie's broken bedroom. No, I can't even lift a finger. My head is deadweight, my whole body feels unbearably heavy.

I do not understand what happened, but I believe Alice does. She will tell me when she is ready, at the moment I have no will to push her; not that I would if I could. As if she knows what I'm thinking, a feather-like touch comes to rest on my face. I pull my eyes open, but it is difficult and she smiles that knowing little smile. I feel the side of my mouth hitch up, in that sideways grin I know drives her crazy. She shakes her head at me, and lifts the glass to my lips. The temperature is off putting but I am so thirsty. My eyes slip closed again and I drink deeply. Far too soon the glass is empty. Behind me I hear Jacob shifting and popping open something. The cooler. I remember Bella telling Alice something about a cooler.

I feel Jacob's apprehension, as the sound of plastic on plastic fills the silence of the car. Someone is unscrewing a bottle. Nessie, most likely. The scent of the lukewarm blood burns my throat again. I don't know how much I have drank, but it has to equal at least five to six deer. I find a small fraction of strength and lift my hand, to try and take the glass. Alice slaps my hand away lightly and it falls heavily into my lap.

"Every once in awhile you need to let me take care of you," she hisses, giving me her best 'Esme' look. I smile widely, feeding off of her playful mood. Her feather touch, caresses my face again, moving a strand of my hair out of my eyes. Her mouth quirks up, and she leans in quickly, placing a kiss on my cheek. Even in my emaciated state the electricity of her kiss shoots through me. I revel in the sensation. I will never grow tired of it. I move my thoughts to another track, neither Edward nor myself want him privy to where that train is going. Alice helps me finish off what is left in the glass and sets it in cup holder of her door. She is trying so hard not to let her anxiousness get the better of her. But I can still tell, still sense it. As I can sense everyone around me.

Edward is calm, as much as he can be driving 130 miles an hour toward a destination only he and Alice know. Bella is reserved. She sits painfully still, even for a vampire. Jacob's jaw is grinding back and forth. I can see one of his hands, white knuckled, gripping the grab handle above him. He doesn't trust in any of our driving abilities, Edward's particularly. Nessie's worry, anger, and frustration hit me like a battering ram. It almost makes me gasp but I hold it in somehow, though it does not escape Alice's notice. I try to speak but my mouth will not move, my tongue feels like lead. My head begins to pound. I'm not strong enough to fight her emotions off and they are overwhelming me.

"Nessie?" Alice almost seems to sigh. "Jasper says relax. Or he'll be forced to waste his energy making you."

The harsh emotions immediately begin to fade and my face relaxes. Alice picks up my arm, completely dead weight in her small hands and snuggles close to me. She does not complain that I cannot hold her on my own. She pulls my other arm around her and rests her head against my chest. I sigh, and it seems to take all the energy I have left with it. Peace rushes into me, and I know it is from my angel. I push the emotion about me, weaving it with my tired mind. Most of it does not go beyond myself and my Alice; but the gentle warm hand I feel on my head a moment later reassures me they feel it too.

_Thanks, Jazz._

I focus on the dark express way ahead of us. The lights of the car catching ramp signs and lane reflectors briefly flash over and over again. I listen to the rhythm of the tires, and watch as the moon races ahead of us. All I can do is wait. Wait until the car stops. Wait until Edward gets us to where we are going. The passing scenery blurs, I cannot focus on anything speeding by. My mind swirls with concern. My motor skills coming and going is one thing it is something else entirely for my vision to be impaired. I barely registered Edward glance back at me.

The pain, it's coming back. I feel the panic rising in my chest again, and Alice notices too. She sits up - her hand reaching for me, but it is snatched away, she is snatched away. I try to follow where she is taken, but my eyes will not move. Someone has pulled her from the car. Someone has taken her. But I cannot move. I cannot save her. I try to tell Edward, Bella, someone. Anyone. My stomach is burning now, my throat is in flames, and every square inch of my body feels like I've been thrown into the pit of hell. My eyes squeeze shut, and I can't help but cry out; as my body involuntarily arches upward. I hardly notice a set of white hot hands push me back down. I think the car has stopped now, but the burning is too great for me to care. A wave of hot lava washes over me and I cry out again, as another set of heated hands though smaller join the first and successfully keep me from breaking the back of the seat clean off.

"GET OFF!" Alice growls, the desperation in her voice claws at my insides as much as the heat does. "Let me go! He's needs me!"

"Other car. Now," an icy voice orders, and I listen to the scratching, clawing, cursing, and grunting as my love is dragged away from me. Another wave of fire, a loud snarl escapes my lips and my eyes fly open. Someone snarls back, literally sitting in my lap trying to pin my legs down, while the vice grip on my shoulders holds my upper body in place. The burning is insatiable. Why is this happening to me? Pain so excruciating if my heart beat it would have given out in this moment. Anguish so thick if I could suffocate I would. Loss so great had I the ability to weep I would. Wave after wave crashes upon me relentlessly. For a breath's moment I understand. It is not my pain, my experience I'm feeling. This...fire is coming from something...no...someone else! My thoughts relapse. _Alice...someone took Alice!_ Edward's silver voice dances on the edge of my hearing. _What did he say?_ My agitation grows.

"Jasper...you have to stop. You're going to break the car!" Jacob snaps, as Nessie presses her palms into my cheeks, pushing as many peaceful thoughts and images as she can muster into my mind.

_Calm, Jasper. Everything's gonna be ok. Emmett took Alice she's with him, Rosalie, and Grandma. She's fine, she's upset but she's fine._ I hear her whisper to my psyche. I can't acknowledge any of what she's saying, her calming attempts burn to ash. This someone's world is gone, their very existence is crumbling; and they are pulling me down with them. My body feels like liquid fire. And then the staggering blow comes barreling down upon me. I feel the reverberation of the invisible hit to every fiber of my being.

My vision grows fuzzy, I try my best to blink it away, but I cannot. And for the first time in nearly two centuries I am growing blind to the world around me. The pounding in my head recedes, the fire in my body goes out, but the thirst remains. I grasp desperately for something, anything, to keep me here. Something is pulling me away now. I will not give in. I must not give in. _Alice...where is she? My Alice._ I feel the blackness swirling around me. I am failing. _Death, that is what this is._ I realize. Whoever's torment this is they are dying and somehow they are taking me with them. I feel my eyes droop, I feel the shaking of my shoulders. Then a cool, familiar embrace. I force my eyes to open again, everything is out of focus but I know the face before me. Alice, my sweet Alice. The pain in her eyes is my pain. I struggle to pull my thoughts together, but again I fail. I have never lost a fight until this moment. I combat the edging darkness with everything left in me, but it is no use. My eyelids are so heavy.

"Jasper..." Her voice is a hair above a whisper, but I hear the hitch in it. There are no last words that could mean anything more than all the ones already spoken and unspoken. But I cannot go without showing her one last time, letting her "feel my soul" as she calls it. Somehow I lift my hand enough to graze my fingers over her face. I shower every memory of emotions we have shared over her at once; and then the blackness consumes and I am as nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	5. From Another Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: No I don't own Twilight/New Moon/Eclipse/Breaking Dawn but I love living in their world.
> 
> Beta'd by idealskeptic. Please visit her page on FF.net at : http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1205456/idealskeptic

Chapter 5 :

From Another Life

-Carlisle-

The Beaumont Estate is deep within the bayous of Louisiana, completely invisible to the outside world. Built on its own private island and surrounded by thick swamps. To say Deja and her family like their privacy is a bit of an understatement. The Beaumonts have remained here for untold spans of time and no one gives them a second glance. I only know of one time they left this safe haven of theirs for any length of time. They had returned a bigger family, with two boys to raise.

The Cajun fishermen and their families like their privacy as much as the Beaumonts do. It is a mutual understanding – stay out of our business and we’ll stay out of yours. Of course, the fact Deja holds the deed to the majority of the “good fishing ground” in the area has helped them not wish to ask questions. Especially when she gave them and their families permission to continue as they had been doing for generations asking only that this part of the swamp be left alone. The fishermen agreed without so much as batting an eye. And, oddly enough, they and their descendants have acted as unreplaceable lookouts for centuries. People that don’t belong in the Southern Bayou almost never get past them. Deja must have warned her would-be guardians that she had a visitor coming. The captains of the three ferries I use to make it to my destination, are conversational but wary. We exchange few words, mostly them testing me. Searching for any signs that I am not who I say I am. They are loyal; you have to give them that. 

“You must walk from here...” the captain mutters as the third ferry finally runs aground. I nod, and step carefully onto the unusually dry gravel path that winds onward into the fog. I stop and listen to the sounds around me. The boat bobbing in the water, the nocturnal animals of the swamp calling to one another. I am reminded why Deja loves it here. The quiet is heavenly.  
“Well go on...git!” The crotchety captain spits, shooing me away with his hands. “It’s unwise to keep Madame waitin’.  
He does not tarry long after that. Within a few short moments, he has the boat turned about and heading off. No sooner is he out of sight then I speed off down the path. Not a single rocks shifts out of place as I pass over it. It takes very little time to reach my destination. I stop short at the wrought iron gates. From here the view of the house is hidden by heavy trees and even thicker curtains of moss. The gates slide open smoothly and I hurry through. The mansion towers over me as I unconsciously glance upward. I spent many years here as a younger vampire.

The house had been hundreds of years old when I first stumbled upon it in the mid 1700’s, as is evident by the architecture. Deja’s mate Dragan and her elder brother Lycus have kept the estate in good order it seems. The house has another story that I do not recall, probably to give the children their own space. Jarek and Viktor, though well beyond an age to strike out on their own, have not. Unlike my own children, Jarek and Viktor belong to their parents biologically. Is this what she called me for? Did something happen to Dragan or the children? Maybe Lycus didn’t return from one his solitary trips? I silently hope for Deja sake that none of these are the case. Scaling the stone steps I inhale deeply. I smell no fear, that at the least is a good sign. I glance down at myself, checking my appearance. I smile seeing that nothing is out of place. Not even my shoes are wet. I laugh outright. Emmett isn’t the only one that can be a monkey when the occasion calls for it. I press the bell once, to officially announce myself; though I know no one within needs it.

A rugged boy, with a cell phone glued to his ear, answers the door and ushers me in. He is speaking rapidly in Russian, not seeming the least bit interested in my arrival. He is tall with broad shoulders and thick arms; his shoulder length brown hair hiding the rest of his features, save his eyes. Their dark silvery gloss reflects the soft light of the chandelier above us. Viktor. I assume. He shuts the door quickly, and abruptly clicks his cell phone shut. There is a momentary silence between us, as we stand in the foyer staring each other down. It has been four centuries since he has seen me but the recognition in his eyes is clear and a sudden smile spreads across his features in welcome. I smile back cordially.  
“You came. I told Jarek you would.” Viktor laughs. “He has ruined the floor upstairs with his pacing.”

The appearance of second boy at the banister above distracts me from replying. He is shorter than Viktor, though only just. His straight brown hair is cut short, and a thicker stripe runs down the middle of his head. His eyes are just as Viktor’s; darkly silver tinted and reflective. But to assume him anything like his twin would be a mistake. Jarek is like his mother – slow to action, taking into account every aspect of a situation before making a decision. But when a decision is made it is made. And nothing is going to change it.

“Carlisle!” He greets me with a wide grin, sliding down the hand rail of the stairs, as if he is still a child. Victor’s foot twitches as though he contemplated moving to catch his brother, but he remains in place. His muttered curses barely discernable. I hide my amusement behind a sudden “need” to scratch my nose. Victor is still as protective of his brother as ever. I discern. After all this time Jarek can still give his sibling a heart attack by simply being himself.  
“Mother will be glad you came.” Jarek sighs in notable relief, grasping my hand in a firm shake.

“Is everything alright?” I ask, as Viktor dashes up the stairs as if summoned. Jarek’s smile falters. He looks off behind him as if listening to something.

“A lot has changed since you left us, Carlisle. Mother thinks it is…less safe for us to remain here.” He mutters quickly, shoving his hands into his pockets, his attention focused on me again. My eyebrows knit at this. Deja has always said she will live here until she is run out with torches and pitchforks. I catch myself from laughing at that. I take a deep but quick breath to compose myself. The scent swirling around me is tinted with the smell of old blood and sweat; it is disconcerting I did not notice it before now. What is going on? There is next to nothing Deja and her family cannot handle on their own. I take another breath. Something, has Jarek on edge and I am beginning to feel it too.  
“Father will be down in just a moment.” Jarek states, his smile locking back into place as he leads me to the sitting room. “Please.”

I nod my agreement and walk ahead of him. Deja’s love of the antique has not dwindled I notice. Décor from every era adorns the room. Egyptian tablets are the center piece of the sitting room and I move to inspect them. Anything to keep myself from berating the boy with questions he knows better than to answer. I am not kept waiting long. Tall, broad shouldered, commanding. Liquid steel beneath coffee skin, dark silver eyes and short mop of hair. I recognize him instantly, Deja’s mate, Dragan. He dismisses his son with the slightest jerk of his head. Jarek zips out of the room, up the stairs and out of sight. Dragan and I, eye one another for a long moment. We did not part on the friendliest of terms. Dragan thinking it foolhardy for me to leave them. But Deja sent me on my way anyway. Sometimes I wonder if she had somehow known what was in store for me.

“You are….looking vell,” Dragan mutters his thick russian accent clouding his speech, as his nose scrunches slightly. He often reminded me of the discomfort my presence caused his nose. After all, according to just about every legend, the two of us should be at each others’ throats right now. Vampires and Werewolves are just not supposed to get along.

“As are you,” I reply, relaxing a small bit. Dragan is calm, almost overly so. There is no immediate danger I decide. “Might I ask why I was summoned here so urgently?”

“Vat is vor Deja to discuss,” he answers, folding his arms over his chest. “I do not envy you. Come vit me.”

I follow Dragan quietly. We zig and zag through the maze-like hallways. Every one of my senses on alert. Every sound, every smell is processed and analyzed. I catch the familiar but faint scent of Deja’s sibling and wonder momentarily why he has not come out to greet me. Perhaps something ails him? Perhaps that was why Deja needs my help?

“Where is Lycus?” I ask.

“Gone,” Dragan mutters nearly cutting me off; as if he expected me to ask.

I nod following him around another corner. Gone? My mind races. What kind of gone? Gone like absent on one of his long wandering? Or gone as in dead? Surely Dragan would have specified if Lycus had passed? Surely Deja would have told...oh no. My thoughts freeze. Imagining Lycus dead is staggering. Not because of his immortality, not because he is the only constant inconsistency in Deja’s life that always keeps her guessing. But because of how rare a creature he is...was? I contain a shudder, remembering the day we had properly met. The day I had left Deja and her family’s company. The day I had tried to help him which nearly cost me my second life. My guide stops abruptly, waving me past him. I detect movement behind the door before me as it softly clicks open. That is all the invitation I know I need. I enter and shut the door behind me.

Inside the room, it is dark, at least it would be for a human. Thick curtains cover the windows that I know lead out onto a balcony. The theme of the room has changed, and a vanity now sits where a wardrobe had been so many years ago. This had been my room. My gaze comes to rest on the only other people in the room. A young woman lies still in large the bed. She is beautiful, with golden hair that falls in ringlets about her porcelain face. The only giveaway that she is not in fact an angel is the darkness about her closed eyes. Relief washes over me, as does curiosity. Relief that it is not Lycus, and curiosity who this woman is.  
Deja is balanced on the bedside, her back to me holding the girl’s hand in hers. Deja has, of course, not changed at all. Her raven black hair rests softly down her back in waves. Her pale skin glowing softly. Yet I sense a weariness about her, something that is extremely out of place. The scent of the room is thick with death. Puzzled I step forward. Deja’s face betrays her. Tears stain her smooth face, and her bright silver eyes are glassy from crying. Before I can question her as to why I had been summoned, she speaks.

“In 1664 a woman was brutally attacked, by a pack of werewolves. Her body was never recovered by her family. Her 3 month old daughter was left on the doorstep of a church, in a small town not far from where her mother went missing. She was raised in the orphanage for ten years before abruptly disappearing. She was never seen or heard from again until three weeks ago, when she arrived on my doorstep. She had no idea how she came to be here, or who she was. Her past, up until Viktor opened our door to her, was blank. She only knew that she was alone, and with child,” Deja paused then, slowly releasing her hold on the girl’s hand. She stands just as slowly, moving around the bed to stand at my side.  
“What I have to say is not going to be easy for you, Carlisle, but you need to hear it,” she says, guiding me to sit with her on the bedside. I simply nod, not daring to take my eyes from the young woman.  
“I was able to finally discover the extent of her past several hours ago, just before she died. The nuns of the church had given her the name Rachel….her mother’s name was Angelic Cullen.”

The silence that follows is deafening. It feels as if the room is caving in on me. I reach over and brace myself against the bedpost. My fingers curl around it. It takes every ounce of my self control not to crush it. Five hundred years of gut instinct comes back in a torrent. My eyes close, fighting it off. I will not succumb to the monster. I have controlled this part of myself for so long, and even now I will not let it get the best of me.

“How?” I ask between my teeth.

“Peacefully. She fell into a coma after the baby was born and never woke,” Deja replies.

“The Father?” I ask, failing to unclench my jaw.

“A Vampire named Matthias, an oddity to be sure. She did not physically see what became of him, nor was she told, therefore I cannot say for sure. But he did care for her. The letters from him I found in the back pocket of her jeans were...endearing, Jarek has tried skrying for him using the letters, but has found nothing. We do not believe he survived. ” Deja answers, placing a small stack of envelopes in my lap. “Read them, Carlisle, at least the latest one. It will help. I found no memory that Rachel told Matthias she was pregnant, or that she knew of whose line she came. So neither does Aro or any of his coven. The child is safe so long as you can keep your temper.”

I close my eyes again, trying to rid myself of the sudden rage. The need to tear the room apart washes over me. Every muscle in my body tightens in response. The bed post snaps like a toothpick. I had a daughter all of this time and didn’t know. A thousand questions race through my mind. Had Angelic known? Why didn’t she tell me before I had left for the raid that night? Would that have stopped me from going? No, I decide, it would not have. My eyes gravitate to Rachel’s still face; and anger wells within me again. I barely register Deja slipping from the room.

What had she been like? Had she been like me? Or like her mother? It hurts to realize how little of Angelic I can remember. I study my daughter’s face, trying to find something familiar. But there is nothing. Angelic had been another life, a life that had dwindled to near extinction when I found Esme. I sigh in exasperation, turning to the letters in my lap. Deja asked I read at least the latest one, and it is unwise not to heed her requests. Pulling the thin paper from the envelope, I unfold it carefully.

> Rachel,  
>  I have missed you horribly, but Caius has been in constant need of my services. I fear more of your breathen have been put to rest. I loathe this, you know I do; and forgive me for it. I know telling you not to worry is pointless, but I am saying it anyway. Don’t worry, darling. Keep to the mountains. We have moved far from them and, provided you are not seen and no other of your kind makes an appearance, we should be headed back to Volterra soon. Be safe, my love. I will be with you soon.  
>  Matthias

Refolding the letter and replacing it into its envelope, I carefully set the package on the bedside table. He had been in the Volterra guard? My curiosity rises. What power could have drawn the Volturi to him? How had Rachel met him? My mind races again. None of it matters now. I tell myself. She is gone and him with her, it appears. Sorrow and the guilt are nearly enough to bury me. What torment Rachel must have gone through. How had she survived the attack on her mother? I shake my head trying to rid myself of the useless questions. She is gone. Her mother is gone. Her mate is gone. All that remains of her is her offspring. I take her hand in mine, flinching at the fact her skin is colder than my own.

"I am so sorry." I whisper, lifting myself enough to kiss her forehead. "I would have searched to the ends of the earth for you if I had only known." 

I am not aware of how much time passes but I am sure it must have been hours later that Deja comes to fetch me pulling me to my feet.

“Come,” she whispers taking my face in her hands for the slightest moment. “There is nothing more that can be done here. Your family will be arriving shortly, and I believe it would be better if you met the baby first.”

With the smile that helped me through so many trials as a younger vampire, Deja leads me from the room and I do not look back. I follow her back the way Dragan had led me previously, across the wide banister of the foyer, and down another hallway. An unfamiliar scent reaches me as Deja opens a door that seems to materialize out of the wall itself. I step in behind her cautiously.

Jarek is perched on the windowsill overlooking the front courtyard. He reminds me of the stone gargoyles that litter the roof of the house. _Keeping watch._ His sibling sits in a rocking chair not far from the window holding what looks like a small bundle of blankets. The scene is almost comical. It is obvious that the chair is much too small for the boy. His legs stretch ridiculously far from the seat of the chair and he is hunched over. Deja glides over to her son and gently takes the bundle from his arms – Viktor immediately getting up to follow her. His mother hisses a dismissal and both boys scurry from the room like startled rabbits; closing the door back behind them. Once we are alone Deja gestures for me to sit, in the vacated rocking chair and I do so silently.

“Hold out your arms, Carlisle,” Deja smiles. “She won’t bite...”

"She?" My hands fly upward, taking the bundle, even as I form the question. The child is a tiny thing, nearly lost among the folds of the puffy pink blanket surround her like a cocoon. Pale skin and chubby cheeks shape her face. What catches my gaze, however, are her eyes. Though only a few hours old, they are wide open and drinking in everything around them. One as black as night and the other as bright as the moon. She stares at me, her face void of all emotion or expression. It is as if she is trying to understand who or what I am. I am positive she will start crying at any moment, but instead she turns her head slightly to the side, reaching out her little hand and grabbing at my nose. I cannot help myself, I smile and she smiles back, her laughter echoing through my mind. All of the sorrow and pain of her mother’s loss is chased away.

“Her name is Amari,” Deja whispers. “Rachel insisted, though she did not seem to know why exactly.”

“Amari,” I mutter in confirmation, unable to shake the unfathomable joy spreading through me like wild fire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	6. Worry With A Dash Of Annoyance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: No I don't own Twilight/New Moon/Eclipse/Breaking Dawn but I love living in their world.
> 
> Beta'd by idealskeptic. Please visit her page on FF.net at : http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1205456/idealskeptic

Chapter 6 :

Worry with a Dash of Annoyance

-Esme-

Worry does not even begin to describe it. My husband is missing, my son is lying lifeless in my daughter’s arms, and now we find ourselves on a road that quite literally just ends. Miles and miles of swamp lie before us. This is where my husband’s scent fades. His car had been left at a motel in the last little town we passed. But my husband was not there. Emmett found his trail that led us here. Here to the very edge of the deep bayous, where his trail just simply ends. I kick a pebble, and it flies several hundred feet into the fog. Edward, Bella and Rosalie have gone off, picking their way along the outskirts and seeing if they can pick up his trail again. I pace the rocky edge of the water, my youngest son standing guard - ready to pounce on anything that holds an inkling of a threat.

I hear the deliberate placement of feet behind me, and I pivot again, bringing my granddaughter and Jacob into view. She smiles tiredly, unashamed at how much she is having to lean against Jacob for support. She has spent the last few hours keeping Alice as calm as possible. Though her gift is not as effective as Jasper’s, it still helps in a pinch. My eyebrows rise in silent question but her head shakes. No change. I release the breath I don’t realize I am holding.

“Any word?” Jacob offers, finding a small patch of dry ground for Nessie to sit on.

“No,” I answer, gazing over the landscape, as Emmett stirs for the first time in three hours.

“Somethin’s comin’,” he growls, coming to stand beside me. Within minutes Rose, and Bella appear back at the cars with Alice and Jasper - Edward dashing to my other side. I search the landscape more carefully this time, finding what Emmett had heard. It looks like a boat, zipping and zagging its way at a very high speed towards the shore. I register two men aboard, but their scent is masked. The stagnant air of the swamp is like a death trap for tracking just about anything.

“Edward?” I ask, hoping he can hear something.

“It’s...fractured,” Edward grumbles. “Nessie, back to the car with your aunt please.”

Nessie growls at the order but Jacob doesn’t give her much choice, swinging her over his shoulder and trotting off. Bella and Rose join us instantly. My children spread out, backing away from the water’s edge, forming a semi circle around Edward’s car. I feel Bella’s shield rush past me, enveloping us and the vehicles. I hate that we have to treat nearly everyone as possible threats, but we have little choice. The soft bounce of the SUV’s suspension tells me that Jacob has taken to higher ground; the roof to be more specific.

Painfully fast, the boat grows closer, but to my amazement the only sound coming from the thing is the breaking of the water and a low pitched humming sound. A human would not even notice it. A few hundred feet from shore the boat slows, and the humming noise cuts off. A burly man jumps into the waist deep water and pulls the boat over onto the grassy area where Nessie had been sitting moments before. Dropping the rope rather dramatically, he shakes off each of his legs alternately, flinging a large amount of excess water onto the boy sitting in the driver’s seat.

“Chyort vozmy, Papa!(Damn it, Dad!)” The driver mutters, jumping down. _Russian._ No wonder Edward cannot understand their thoughts. _Did I not tell you years ago to buckle down and learn that one!?_ Edward shifts, flinching ever so slightly. Before I can chastise him further however the boy speaks in surprisingly perfect English.

“We apologize for the delay, we are friends of your Carlisle. I am Jarek, and this is my father, Dragan.”

Their scent hits me and the rest of my family like a ton of bricks. It is a musky, heavy smell. But oddly not off putting, though neither am I drawn to them. It is as though my natural instinct is indifferent to these creatures. What are they?

“My husband never mentioned you,” I reply, trying to compose myself.

“Da,” Dragan answers, his Slavic accent unmistakable. “There is reason for it.”

“They are telling the truth,” Edward pipes up, his eyes burning with curiosity. “Carlisle came here of his own free will, he is safe and is waiting on us.”

I watch the newcomers warily. They are not human, but not vampire either. The dark silvery glint of their eyes and the superior strength Dragan displayed is evidence enough, if their scent isn’t. Jarek eyes Edward curiously but he says nothing. Carlisle had to of warned them Edward could hear their thoughts, right? I shake my head to clear it, now is the time for action not questions.

“Emmett, your brother,” I order over my shoulder. He obeys wordlessly, reappearing a moment later with Jasper in his arms and Alice at his elbow. At Jasper’s appearance Jarek’s outgoing mood fails. His gaze turns darker, and he busies himself with turning the boat about. Dragan ushers us on board, showing each of us where it would be best to sit for weight reasons. I can feel Emmett’s apprehension as he tries to watch both Dragan and Jarek at the same time. But even a vampire cannot watch things in two directions at once. He plants himself in the seat to my left, Rosalie pressed safely into his side. Jacob and Nessie sit in front of me in similar fashion. I realize just how much I am going to enjoy Carlisle’s arms around me when we get to where we are going. Of course, right after I knock him into next weekend. A low growl from Dragan, and Jarek hops into the driver’s seat again. The boat hums to life, and within seconds we are racing through the bayou. Were it not for the circumstances, I would be enjoying myself.

I notice how little we seem to sway, only doing so when absolutely necessary. Nothing like the driving that had been displayed before. It does not escape my eye how often Jarek glances downward to where Alice sits beneath his captain’s seat, cradling Jasper’s upper body in her arms. His almost involuntary glances hold no malice, I can tell that much. There is something fearful about them however. As though he believes if he were to lose sight of them they would disappear. Beside me, I feel Edward shift. The kind of shift he does when he’s uncomfortable with something he hears. _What Edward?_ I think. He shakes his head and smiles. I feel myself relax a little. No danger then. Perhaps he just thinks Alice is cute. Again Edward shakes his head, muffling a chuckle as he leans towards me.

“I can’t understand all of it, his thoughts keep slipping into Russian. He is very concerned and very pressed to get back to someone named Viktor...I am unsure as to why though,” he whispers. I glance up at our pilot again, this time catching his eye. He dips his head in respect and returns his attention to the landscape. We take another smooth but fast turn and glide through a curtain of moss. My granddaughter’s gasp pulls my gaze forward, my own surprise showing plainly on my face.

The house is exquisite. I recognize the mid 1300’s architecture. It is in impeccable condition. I find myself growing ever more curious about these friends my husband has never bothered to mention. _Definitely getting knocked into next weekend,_ I fume, setting my jaw. Jarek steers the boat right up into the backyard and cuts the fan. Before we can even begin to disembark, Jarek is at Alice’s side. He is speaking to her, gesturing between himself and my son. At Alice’s nod he gingerly places a hand on Jasper’s forehead. A momentary spark ignites between his fingers, Jarek’s whole body shudders slightly, as he rips his hand away as if burned. He points to Dragan and back to Jasper again as something inaudible passes over his lips. I do not need to hear the conversation to know what the boy is asking. I feel Edward tense beside me. Alice’s eyes flicker towards him and back again to Jarek. She nods and, without another word, Dragan lifts Jasper from Alice’s arms, as if he were made of glass. 

“Hurry, please,” the urgency in Jarek’s voice is thick. “My brother and mother will want to see him immediately.”

I nod and rush my family from the boat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	7. Search and Rescue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: No I don't own Twilight/New Moon/Eclipse/Breaking Dawn but I love living in their world.
> 
> Beta'd by idealskeptic. Please visit her page on FF.net at : http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1205456/idealskeptic

Chapter 7 :

Search and Rescue

-Bella-

“Matka!(Mother!) Carlisle!” Jarek’s voice rips from him like a howl as he swipes an expensive looking vase from the foyer table, setting it by the staircase out of the way in one fluid motion; only to stumble back a moment later, as if he’d been struck. I could swear a whimper escapes him as he catches himself against the banister.

“Viktor! Spuskaĭtesʹ syuda! SYEĬCHAS!(Get down here! NOW!)” Dragan’s voice booms like a cannon as he rests Jasper’s still form on the table, footfalls from three different directions come swiftly to the bannister above us. My head snaps upward instantly. Carlisle is safe, and I am relieved. He is flanked by a raven haired woman and a young man that looks a head taller and uncannily like Jarek. _His brother maybe?_ I think receeding my shield so Edward could hear me. My husband nods. The look of sheer pain on the young man’s face does not sit well with me. He launches himself over the stair railing, landing with a muted thud. He consumes Jarek in a death grip; easing Jarek’s already limp body to the floor. 

“Ty debil . Pochemu by Vam ne nikogda ne uznayem?”.(You moron. Why don’t you ever learn?) He growls, shaking his head.

“Not...now Viktor...pozhaluysta.” Jarek replies weakly, as Carlisle and the woman barrel down the stairs.

Dragan steps forward, stopping the woman in her tracks, and shaking his head . _Mates._ I realize. _She must be their mother._ Edward nods again in agreement, his attention fixated on Jarek and Vikor. Viktor’s head is bowed, his forehead resting on Jarek’s, clinging to him, as if his life depends on it. His lips move incredibly quickly but I detect no sound. The look of concentration etched over his closed eyes is almost painful to watch. Jarek’s face however is calm, almost peaceful, as if some great weight has been lifted from him, and a small smile plays on his lips. Dragan joins them kneeling down and placing one hand on Viktor’s shoulder and the other on Jarek’s heart; his head also bows in immense concentration. I notice now just how frail Jarek appears, when compared to his taller, bulkier sibling and Father.

“What happened?” Carlisle asks, embracing Esme. I bite my lip. Nothing about this is funny but just how quickly Esme’s mask of anger melts in her husband’s arms has a laugh tickling my throat. My would-be parents move together to Jasper’s side. Nessie steps forward wordlessly and shows him everything that had happened. He thanks her with a hug and reaches to take Jasper’s hand.

“Stoĭ(Stop/Halt)!” Dragan warns materializing at my father’s side, his large hand wrapped tightly about Carlisle’s wrist, stopping him within inches of Jasper’s skin. Emmett growls menacingly, but does not move. He knows better.

“Stoĭ,” Dragan repeats again but more quietly, releasing Carlisle and backing up a step his hands splade before him. He didn’t want Carlisle to touch Jasper. But why? Viktor pulls Jarek to his feet. _What’s going on?_ I wonder, glancing at Edward. His face is blank, as if he has no idea how to comprehend what’s in front of him.

“Do not touch him. I am surprised that it has not spread further than this with so many of you touching him repeatedly.” Jarek’s voice wobbles.

“What hasn’t spread?” Esme asks.

“Moon Fire,” he answers, moving to the table side, Viktor’s bulky form looming behind him protectively as their father takes up real estate at their mother’s shoulder . Viktor scans each of us swiftly. His silver eyes glowing like mercury. I don’t need to be Jasper to know the man is angry. But at who? Us? I watch Jarek sway, Viktor’s hand flying to his shoulder to steady him. The room grows eerily quiet. Carlisle steps back a fraction on a step, taking Esme with him, horror written all over his face. _Moon Fire? What the hell is that?_ Edward shifts beside me.

“Jarek...are you sure?” the raven haired woman asks.

“Yes, Matka(Mother),” comes the quiet, almost sorrowful response. The raven haired woman turns to us now, determination setting her silver eyes a flame.

“I must know everything that occurred. Renesmee, please show me what you provided to Carlisle. Leave nothing out, child, I need every detail, emotion and otherwise you can provide me.” Her voice is serious but light, yet there is a rage behind it unlike anything I have heard before. How did she know about my daughter’s gift? I almost roll my eyes at myself. Carlisle. Of course he had probably told this woman what each of us could do. If he trusts her enough to drop everything and come running when she calls, he had to trust her enough for that.

Nessie moves forward hesitantly, her palm held upward; resting it on the woman’s face. There is a silence, but I can feel my husband stiffen - jointly remembering the blast most likely. A few moments later, Nessie removes her hand and steps back into Jacob’s all-encompassing arms. The woman breathes deeply as if she is allowing the images to settle. It is a very long time before she reveals her silver eyes again moving to stand opposite her children at the table. I glance sideways at Alice. Emmett and Rosalie have her pinned between them. Keeping her in check. My gaze flickers forward again.

“What must be done, if we are to save him, will not be easy. Nor will it be free of pain on his part,” the woman mutters.

“Will someone please say something that makes sense?!” Alice explodes, taking a few quick steps towards Jasper; as Emmett and Rosalie reach forward to pull her back. “While I’m grateful you seem to want to help, I don’t know you from Adam! No one is going to do another damn thing until I get answers. Who are you? Why can’t I see your decisions? What the hell is Moon Fire?! I’m walking in the dark here, and normally that wouldn’t bother me too much. But this is my mate you’re talking about. I can’t see his future and that is not ok!”

No one in the room moves. Most of us too stunned at the outburst that had apparently been building up in her since we left. I am clearly aware now of just how much Jasper affects her, the understanding that she truly needs him as much as he confessed to me all those years ago, of needing her. She may be his saving grace but he is her safe haven. My still heart aches, as I move to pull Alice into my iron embrace. She needs comfort not restraint.

“My apologies,” the woman whispers. “My name is Deja, you have met my son, Jarek, and my husband, Dragan. That is Viktor, my other son. We have known Carlisle for many years. Though why he never spoke of us, I will explain at a later time. As to your other question, it is a bit more complicated. Moon Fire is a dangerous thing for vampyre, as I am sure you have deduced. What you may not know is that it is a survival mechanism for our kind. It is why Caius has hunted us down to near extinction. You may or may not know, for I do not know the extent of Volturi history Carlisle has shared with you, that Caius himself was very nearly killed by one of us. You would know us as werewolves, children of the moon, though we prefer to call ourselves Sheelings as it is said in your tongue.”

“Jasper hasn’t been near any werewolves,” Alice counters. “The closest thing to a werewolf that we even knew existed up until a second ago was Jacob’s people!”

“Good, it means we have kept ourselves hidden well enough,” Deja smiles, amused. “But your Jasper did not precisely come across a werewolf physically. I’m afraid you were infected first, through your vision, and it spread to Jasper leaving you behind entirely. Moon Fire will spread from one vampyre to the next until there is no vampyre left for it to be transferred to, although it will pass over any creature that is essentially good of heart. Your soul is unblemished, Alice; just as Rosalie, and Jacob’s are. You were a conduit, a tool which it used to spread. The moon holds no grudge against someone who takes animal or vampyre life, but it does in taking human, or Sheeling life. I can only assume that is why it has not spread to any of you that have touched him. Your diet actually protected you from it.”

“I’ve slipped...” Emmett mutters. “And Edward as well...

“Yes, but not to an extent as most vampyres, young Emmett.” Deja clarifies. “Moon Fire is drawn to the darkness in vampyre. The blood thirsty desire to take human life. You “slipped” as you say, but your sorrow though you dismissed it ages ago still lingers, woven deep in the makings of your soul. You have no desire now to take a human life and therefore the Fire is not drawn to you. The same is true of you, Esme. As for Renesmee and Bella, they fed only on human blood that was willingly given. Though Renesmee has another protection greater than that. The fact that she is half human means the fire can not enter her. Her half-human heart will not allow it. And you, Edward, Carlisle told me your rebellious years were a calculated rebellion. Not once did you spill blood of an innocent human, only feeding on monsters as horrid as you believed yourself to be. But you did not touch him, and I do not suggest testing it.”

Edward nods, but Alice is not satiated.

“Jasper hasn’t harmed a human in over two centuries!”

“But his guilt still remains.” Jarek answers, sadly. “You have all forgiven him, but he has yet to forgive himself.”

“How do-”

“That is enough for now. Time is everything when it comes to a vampyre infected by Moon Fire,” Deja answers. “Your Jasper though he appears lifeless, is in excruciating pain and is very much running out of time.”

Alice, still cradled in my arms, nods her approval. Deja’s gaze slides briefly to Dragan, and he quite literally jumps to life.

“Uh…better you wait upstairs, Da(yes)?” Dragan offers, his voice wrapping oddly around the alien language as he gestures for the stairs. My family, with Carlisle’s guidance moves to follow him.

“Edward, Bella, Renesmee...stay please,” Deja entreats. “Your help may be needed.”

I shift Alice into our mother’s arms, as I pull my daughter away from Jacob. She smiles at me reassuringly, and bids Jacob go with the rest. Though Jacob abides her request, he is slow to do so. Emmett keeps pushing him forward, up the stairs, down the landing and out of sight. I sigh, rolling my eyes and turn my attention to the task at hand.

“What would you have us do?” Edward asks.

“Shield us please, Bella,” Deja whispers. I do as asked, and she seems to breathe a sigh of relief.

“Thank you.” she smiles. “Now that there is minimal audience I can explain how this is going to work. I did not wish Alice to hear. Renesmee, I need you to keep Jasper as calm as you can. The calmer he is the less it will hurt; for what my sons are going to have to do in order to remove the Fire within him is not something Jasper is going to happily allow.”

“And what exactly is that?” my daughter questions.

“Sucking it out of him,” Viktor mutters, Jarek elbowing him in the ribs. “What?”

“But why wouldn’t Jasper want it gone?” I query, ignoring their antics.

“Moon Fire, if left to its own devices long enough, starts pulling away at a vampyre’s psych. Breaking it down, making the vampyre believe whatever fantasy it has helped him create. He’s not going to want to leave the safety he’s made inside his mind,” Deja replies.

“You seem to know much about this...this has happened before,“ Edward states.

“Yes...once. A very long time ago,” Viktor growls. “Now let my mother finish.”

“I cannot promise when he wakes what he will remember. This entire event could, for him, have never happened,” Deja continues, completely ignoring the exchange. “Or it could be like dealing with a newborn. His entire vampyre existence could be wiped clean if we have to use too much force to separate it from him.”

My mind races. I can’t imagine Jasper waking up and not remembering anyone. Not remembering Maria and the horrible things she had tricked him into doing. Not remembering that day in Philadelphia. Not remembering Alice. I want to cry. Everything that makes Jasper who he is and who we all love is defined by every second in his life before becoming a Cullen. There has to be some way to protect his memory. Some way to guarantee when those honey eyes of his opened that at the very least Alice is recognized.

“It will need someone to inhabit once removed. That is where you come in, Edward. It will gravitate to you, blind to all else that moves. It is going to be weak from suddenly being jerked from your brother, and that is when I shall retain it, but I can only do so when it is distracted.”

“What?” I gasp.

“Just momentarily. I promise your Edward shall be in no true danger.” 

“Would it help if I continuously fed Jazz all the memories I have of him and Alice?” Nessie asks, her voice hopeful. “You know, to help him keep hold of his?”

“That it may, child. It is worth a shot.” Deja amends. “Alright, let us begin.”

Viktor moves to the head of the table, placing one hand on the crown of Jasper’s head and the other on Jarek’s shoulder. Jarek, in turn, places one hand on Jasper’s chest and the other on my brother’s middle. Viktor instructs my daughter to sit on the table beside her uncle and grip his face as tightly as possible. The connection cannot be lost, he says, not even for a moment. Jarek’s voice is low, muttering something just beyond my perception, though what words I can pick out are unknown to me. Viktor suddenly goes rigid, his eyes clouding over. His lips moving again as they had early, in silent speaking.

“Deeper, move passed the recent memories,” Jarek orders. “There, follow it. He’s panicking, Renesmee, push harder. Viktor, he’s slipping, dig deeper, find me a hand hold. Here we go. It’s getting agitated. There, I’ve got it. Bella, keep your shield steady. It can’t cross it. Edward, get ready, step out of the shield when I say. Matka(Mother)?”

I close my eyes, and concentrate on the woven invisible threads of my shield, checking every inch for any possible weakness. There are none, but I weave it tighter anyway. I nearly falter when Jasper’s peeling scream echoes off the walls. My eyes spring open and I immediately regret it. My brother is in flames. My eyes blink repeatedly. Everywhere I look flames are licking him, burning him, but the table remains unharmed. He screams again, his back arching, his legs scrambling to support his weight. Nessie has her eyes squeezed shut, her jaw grinding back and forth with the strain. Jarek is yelling now, but somehow I can’t hear him over Jasper’s unearthly screams. The fire is burning brighter, enveloping Jasper like a gas soaked pyre. I am entranced. Though it consumes my him, the fire seems to almost bend around my daughter, Jarek and Viktor. As if they themselves have developed their own invisible shields. Then, suddenly, the flames go out, Jasper falls limp to the table. It buckles under him, but remains standing. 

Floating a foot above Jasper’s emancipated form is the purest source of light I have ever seen. It shimmers and writhes within itself. I am captivated. I find myself wanting nothing more than to protect it from anything that would do it harm.  
 _Not you young one._ A soft voice whispers inside my head. _You are not of evil. You must never know me. Now step aside. The creature behind you is much more deserving of me._ I feel Edward move behind me, and I pull myself to full height.

“No.” I reply out loud, placing my hand on my husband’s arm to hinder his any attempt to step forward. Whatever this thing truly is it is not about to do to Edward what it had done to Jasper. The light writhes again, momentarily growing larger and then receding. _Distraction is its weakness._ I remember. 

_Move._ It warns growing a fraction brighter.

“No.” I repeat, this time shoving Edward as hard as I can; simultaneously shrinking my shield leaving Edward beyond its reach. The thing howls and blurs toward me. I squeeze my eyes shut. It can’t get out, I must not lose my focus. There is a rush of air, then everything falls still and I chance a peak.

“Well done, Bella.” Deja sighs, leaning heavily on Viktor’s arm. I cannot help but notice how a light her skin is. Though she appears exhausted, the hue of her skin is richer more human like.

“Mom?” Nessie’s voice washes over me, my shield drops and I run to her side gathering her into my arms as the others come flying down the stairs. Nessie is yanked from my grasp by Jacob but I do not complain, turning my attention to Jasper. His color was beginning to return. Alice rushes to his side, gathering what she can of him into her small arms. _It worked._ I tell myself, as I relax into Edward’s arm as they wrap around me. _But at what cost?_  



	8. Dreams of Yesterday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: No I don't own Twilight/New Moon/Eclipse/Breaking Dawn but I love living in their world.
> 
> Beta'd by idealskeptic. Please visit her page on FF.net at : http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1205456/idealskeptic

Chapter 8 :

Dreams of Yesterday

-Jasper-

“Jasper Andrew Whitlock!” comes the shriek. “You come down from that tree this instant! That is no place for a gentleman, especially a gentleman all done up for church!”

I sigh, and my shoulders sag. I don’t want to be a “gentleman”, but I do as I am told – carefully finding my way down, the same way I had come up. As soon as both my feet are firmly planted on the ground, my head starts stinging like a beehive. I grimace at my mother and her wooden spoon and duck my head shamefully.

“Now go help your brother with the horses.” My mother orders.

“Yes, Mama.” I reply, scurrying away from the reach of that deadly spoon. I love my mama like any respectable Texas boy, but sometimes she is smothering. I just want an adventure of my own. Like Papa had in the Mexican War. I bet no one told him not to climb trees! One day, I’ll climb any tree I want, no matter how I am dressed! I fume. Fifteen years is plenty old enough to do what I want when I want. One day when I am too old for Mama to swat me with her devil’s spoon, I’ll find the tallest tree and climb all the way to the top of the world! 

I find my older brother, Matty, guiding Clipper from the stall. He is a lanky boy, dark hair and blue eyes. Mama says he’s got too much of Grandpa Carver in him. I yawn, heading to the opposite stall in the barn to fetch our mare Carolina. Matty smiles at me in greeting but otherwise ignores my existence. He doesn’t talk much, never has. It isn’t that my brother is unfriendly, he’s just always thinking about things way too deeply to be bothered by small talk. Although what he’s always thinking about he never does share.

A few minutes of silent work later and we have the horses hitched to the wagon. I climb up into the wagon and my brother leads us out into the sun shine; around the house and stops at the porch. Mama and Papa hurry out the door, my three younger sisters in tow. Papa and Matty help them into the wagon and we set off for the bright little church on the square.

Emily Hearth, only daughter to Mr. David Hearth, is getting married today. Papa’s known Mr. Hearth for years. Matty says they were in the Mexican War together. The service is long, boring and miserably hot. I pull at my church clothes; the rough cotton is chafing my neck and arms. Mama and I hadn’t made it to the tailor’s in enough time to get my new suit, but I am happy I’ll have a new one by Sunday. Mama says I’m growing too fast – much faster than Matty ever did at my age. I muffle a yawn, and try to pay closer attention to the pastor’s ramblings about love, God’s purpose for our lives, and something about sanctity of marriage. Oh come on...hurry up and say I do! I plead.

Beside me my two youngest sisters play with their dolls quietly. I stretch my long legs out under the pew in front of me. I would much rather be outside right now. Running free and hunting for adventures with my best friend, Franklin. I sigh as quietly as possible and straighten my slouch before Mama can correct it for me. I stare blankly at the wall behind the pastor. Huh…never realized there were rotting holes in the wall. They should get that fixed. I think. Wait..the church was just painted last week! I helped do it! It takes me a second to realize what’s happening. Smoke billows in through the windows, and the screaming starts. I grab for my sisters but they are already gone. I stumble through the smoke, something heavy hits me from behind, and I fall. My leg, is pinned. The flames lick at my skin, the heat is unlike anything I have ever felt. I’m burning! I try to yell, scream for help; but I cough instead, gasping for clean air, only finding black soot and ash. Tears pour from my eyes, I bury my face in my arms.

 _No, I can’t give up. I won’t give up!_ I pull on my leg but it doesn't budge, I kick at what looks like pieces of the church steeple. _I will not give in. Let go!_ Suddenly the weight is lifted from my leg. Someone is pulling me to my feet. I try to focus on them but the smoke stings my eyes. I wipe away the tears and try again.

At first I am startled. My surroundings have changed completely. The sun shines gently through the trees of the forest I am standing in. At my feet a river runs lazily by, and I catch my reflection within it. I am older than I had been before. Memories of the a War flash through my mind. I had been escorting survivors to safety. How did I get here? I focus on my arms and hands. They are covered in a thousand scars. What happened to me? Struck by a cannon by the looks of it. I tell myself. The rustle of leaves catches my attention and my head snaps up towards the sound. I am in awe of how well I can see everything around me. My eyesight has never been clearer.

I am tackled from behind, but I am not afraid; I somehow know they were there. A deep gravely laugh erupts from me as I turn to snatch up my predator. Her beauty is striking. Her eyes are dark, her skin the shade of milk, her long hair as black as midnight. _She’s an angel._ I think. _I must have been struck by cannon fire...this has be the heaven Mama always talked about._

“What are you thinking about?” she asks.

“That your name must be as fair as you,” I drawl, reaching out to touch her face. She giggles, twisting away just out of reach.

“Well aren’t you a charmer,” she smiles. “My name is Alice.”

 _Alice._ Warmth fills me at the sound the name. She moves incredibly fast, appearing and disappearing again among the beams of sunlight. Like flashes of lightning. Her skin radiates like diamonds. She beckons to me and I cannot resist. I follow,surprised at my own speed. A moment later I have her in my grasp, her scent swirling about me. Yes this has to be heaven. I think consuming her mouth with mine. 

“That is not Alice,” the voice is small, a whisper, but it shatters the perfectness of the world around me. I turn, to find a young girl, her hair like bronzed maple. “You need to come with me, Jasper. Right now. I can take you to the real Alice.”

I fall back a few steps, placing myself between my beautiful creature and this intruder. I don’t understand why, but I know that she does not belong here. And yet she does not mean me harm either. She does not advance, but her eyes are pleading. She almost seems familiar, the color of her eyes, and the pitch of her voice. Why has she come here? Who is she? Why would she accuse my angel of not being who she says she is? I shake the questions loose. It does not matter. This is where I belong. This is where I want to stay. Nothing is going to take me from here.

“Leave. You’re not supposed to be here.” I growl, as suddenly two other figures appear beside the young girl. They are men, one tall and bulky the other shorter but no less domineering.

“He’s panicking, push harder,” the shorter one commands and the landscape and my angel are ripped from me. I am shown a house, open and warm, a family sitting around a table arguing and laughing over a board game; which quickly turns into a wrestling match between a burly boy and myself.

“You usually let him win.” The intruder giggles. “But sometimes you put him in his place; just to remind him you can.”

I feel a twinge of amusement at her words. I am shifted again, a short haired fairy like woman is looking back as I chase her among the trees. When I finally catch her, her laughter rings out like silver bells, her smile is brighter than a thousand suns. I close my eyes, trying to swallow the doubt. When I open my eyes again, I am standing in a library. I see myself seated upon a window sill balancing a book in my lap. The same woman as before dances into the room, a child on her hip – the girl with the bronzed maple hair.

“You have to come with me Jasper...You can’t forget us. You can’t forget _Alice_. Don’t you remember Philadelphia? The diner? Dad said you felt hope when you met her. Does the one behind you give you hope?” the girl asks, tears rolling down her cheeks. “Come back with me, Jazz. None of this is real. We can take you back to the real Alice. Your Alice.”

“Jasper...don’t leave me!” the beautiful one at my ear begs, pulling me back to the present. “Don’t listen to her she’s trying to take you away. She’s trying to trick you!”

The brown eyed girl’s voice is nearly enough to break me. But my angel’s touch is all the assurance I need.

“Viktor...he’s slipping back...find me a hand hold.” the smaller male’s voice is fervent almost desperate. 

“Leave.” I order, shifting myself into a more protective stance. “I will not listen to your lies.”

“Jasper....please...” the young girl begs again, holding out her hand. “Remember what hope feels like? Remember all those years of being Maria’s puppet? Remember you took Alice’s hand. Alice gave you hope, not Maria. That isn’t Alice, there at your side. That’s Maria she’s trying to keep you trapped here. None of this is real! I’m not trying to trick you, she is! I’m not leaving without you. I will not let you abandoned Alice. Come home Jasper…please!”

 _Maria? Whose Maria? Trapped here? Trapped where exactly? I see no workings of a prison here._ Her words are a bashing assault against my resolve. My doubt surfaces again. _Home?_

“There!” comes the male voice again. “I got it!”

Everything about me fades, revealing an open room surrounded by windows. The soft light of sunset pours in from every direction. It is peaceful here. Far more peaceful than the forest had been. Lounging on a fur rug in the middle of the room is the pixie like woman. She is a tiny thing, I would easily dwarf her if she were standing. She seems unaffected by my presence, her feet swaying back and forth in the air as she lazily turns another page of the magazine she is looking at. 

“You are my sunshine...my only sunshine. You make when happy when skies are grey. You’ll always know dear how much I love you...” her voice is like the tinkling of christmas bells. “Didn't your mama teach you it's rude to stare? I'm quite certain she did.”

I glance about myself subconsciously and move to sit on the couch by her feet. She sighs springing up to sit beside me, hooking her arm in mine and continuing her browsing of the world’s latest fashion. She is completely unconcerned with having suddenly come into existence. As if she has no idea at all that she simply didn’t exist a moment ago. She is the most perfect creature I have ever seen. Her aura is heavenly. Where most have a mixture of emotions, clouding their true nature; she is an open book. She is happiness in the purest sense of the word. 

“Is this...am I...?” I stumble. Her face twists up in a quizzical look, as if she thinks me mad. I shake my head uncertain if I am or not. I try to think beyond this moment. Where had I been before here? The frustration that I can not remember is maddening. The only thing I know for sure is the pain that exists beyond this place. I can hear it scratching at the walls, I can feel its heat attempting to penetrate whatever barrier it cannot get through. What is protecting us? She shifts beside me and an ocean of peace crashes over me. Is she doing this? Who is this woman? And why do I feel as if I should know.

“Where are we?” I ask.

“Wherever you want us to be Jasper,” she answers. “This is your mind.”

“So I am dreaming then,” I confirm. “None of this is real.”

“It’s as real as you need it to be, though you can’t stay here forever,” she chides. “It’s very ungentlemanly of you to keep a girl waiting. Renesmee’s not going to let you stay here. You have to go with her Jazz. You have to go home.”

“The pain is beyond this...I cannot survive it.” I argue.

“Sure you can,” she counters, setting aside her magazine.

“It hurts to much.” I admit.

“Nothing worth anything is painless to attain. Your fight is not done yet soldier, and the Jasper I know has never lost a fight.” she replies, placing her small hand on my face. A thousand images assault me at once. Every moment of my existence plays in  
reverse within seconds. A hand floats into focus, though it does not belong to who my memory expects. It is the chocolate eyed girl, the one with the bronze colored hair and suddenly everything makes sense.

 _Philadelphia. Hope. Alice. The…Cullens. Bella. Rene...Nessie. The girl trying to persuade me is Nessie...my niece! Alice something happened to Alice._ I grit my teeth, squeezing my eyes shut, willing myself to remember. _A...fight...an argument. Alice’s vision...something is hurting her...I...I stopped it...it had taken me instead._ I feel my body recoil, and I am once again within the sunlit woods. The dark eyed beauty at my ear still begging me to stay. I wrench myself free of her hold. _Maria._ I remember, guilt, sorrow, and anger threaten to drown me.

“I will not be yours or anyone else’s puppet,” I sneer, locking my gaze on Nessie. “Not again.”

_Home. Alice. My Sunshine. _I take a step away from Maria, a step towards Renesmee. and fire pours through me. I scream, falling unwillingly to the ground. _You will not give up!_ The silver belled voice berates me silently. _Get up Jasper Whitlock. GET UP!___

__I stagger to my feet, taking another excruciating step forward, the pain buckles my knees but somehow I still move forward. Farther from the grasping hungry hands of Maria; closer to the outstretched hand of Nessie. She is straining now to reach me. I can see the concern and stubbornness, reflecting in her eyes. She knows well how to play the game. I pull strength from her strength and take another step. So close now but my body is on fire, just as it had been in the church only greater. The pain is unbearable. I snarl, I howl, I stumble falling to my hands and knees. For a moment I doubt my resolve. _I cannot do this.__ _

__“Yes you can.” A sweet low voice urges in my ear. I do not need to look up to know who is speaking. I have known this voice since my birth. “Get up my little soldier. It will not end like this for you.”_ _

__“I can’t do it Mama.” I cringe._ _

__“Jasper Andrew in all my years I have never heard those words escape you and I am not about to start hearing them now.” She scolds softly. “Get yourself up son, that is hardly a dignified position for a gentleman.”_ _

__Admist the pain I laugh, Mama and her insatiable need for me to be a gentleman.I do not know how but my feet find ground and push myself up and forward tripping the last few steps. It is not my mother who catches me, but something else, something alien yet I do not fear it. It brings a cooling wave of peace with its arrival. The writhing flames in my chest and body go out; unable to withstand the cooling waters of this unknown presence. I am consumed by it, wrapped in a blanket of comfort; and somewhere along the way I let go of time._ _

__When I become aware again, I feel numb but very much...normal? Yes normal sounds like, feels like the right word. It is much better here. Wait, where is here? And had I not been somewhere else before? Or have I always been here? I push the darkness around trying to find some semblance of direction. There is none of course. There never was any that I can remember. I growl. I am expected somewhere, I am sure of it. Someone is waiting on me._ _

__“Jazz?” The voice is light, airy, and soothing. I can hear other voices, but they seem so distant, but no less familiar than the first. I cannot break through the veil that covers my senses. But I know I need to wake up, I need to break free of this darkness. My addled mind reels at the strain, confusion swirling around me. Why am I trying to break through it again? Oh that’s right, someone is waiting on me aren’t they? I wish I could remember their name. They sound worried. Have I been here long? I can’t remember when I got here._ _

__“Jasper?” comes the voice again. “Jasper can you hear me?_ _

__I feel warmth wash over me and smile as the darkness slowly melts away. I know this voice. Fingers ghost over my face as the world around me grows clearer. I detect light now. It is not uncomfortable as it should be for as long as I must have been here in the dark. Ever so slowly I become aware of my body. Something exquisitely soft lies beneath me. A bed perhaps?_ _

__“Jasper Andrew Whitlock Hale, stop playing possum! You’ve kept me and everyone else waiting right long enough!” comes the voice sternly for a third time, though I can feel the humor in it. My eyelids feel light as feathers and much too slowly they fly open. She is here. She is real. She smiles down at me, relief etched in every inch of her perfect star like face. _My Sunshine. My Alice._ A light chuckle rolls from my throat._ _

__“My apologies, ma’am.”_ _  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	9. Silver Lining

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: No I don't own Twilight/New Moon/Eclipse/Breaking Dawn but I love living in their world.
> 
> Beta'd by idealskeptic. Please visit her page on FF.net at : http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1205456/idealskeptic

Chapter 9:

Silver Lining

-Carlisle-

Jasper has been awake for several hours now. His recovery is remarkable - no doubt due to Deja’s mystery concoction. She promises it is not human, but will not go into further detail. Jasper is a good patient when he chooses to be; but with my wife, daughter and granddaughter fussing over him I’m not sure how much of a choice he really has.

“Please,” comes Jasper’s even voice, from the window next door. “I just want to walk around outside for a bit.”

“Alright.” Esme’s quiet voice washes over me and I cringe a little. She is still angry. She was angry when they arrived. I know a “chewing out” as Emmett calls them is coming, and to an extent I do deserve it - disappearing on her and our children like this. But getting a phone call from Deja is the last thing I expected. Actually, I didn’t expect it at all, because up until twenty-four hours ago, I didn’t know Deja even existed. Dragan’s plan all those years ago _had worked_. I sigh, running my hand through my hair and glaring at the stars. I hear the slight shifting of feet as Bella vacates her place by the balcony door, and comes to perch on the balustrade. She has been following me all about the house since Jasper woke, mostly by my request. I grew tired of repeating Einstein's Law of Relativity in my head hours ago. I need my thoughts to be my own for awhile. I did not need Edward brooding over the entire affair regarding Amari before I have a chance to explain myself.

“I don’t need to have Jasper’s ability to know something’s wrong Carlisle,” she offers quietly.

I smile half-heartedly. Bella never pries. She may state she is aware that all is not well but she never pries. I sigh again, spreading my hands on the cool stone of the balustrade and study the sky more intently. 

“You are sort of right. Nothing is wrong but something is worrying me,” I reply. “Go on downstairs with the others, Bella. I will be along shortly.”

Bella lets her own sigh escape, placing her hand lightly on my shoulder.

“I can’t protect your thoughts from Edward if I’m that far away Carlisle,” she warns.

“I know, everything will be explained soon. Besides he is much too focused on our hosts to hear my thoughts clearly at the moment anyway.”

My adoptive daughter nods her head and disappears into the hallway. Even after a so long the child astounds me. Her patience is unrivaled with anyone in our merry little family. _A family that is about to get bigger._ I remind myself. Esme’s presence is suddenly with me and try to keep my eyes on the heavens. I know she’s about to explode. She always waits until we are minimally alone. I feel my muscles tense, waiting for the onslaught. She has every right to be angry, every right to slap me into the next century; but she doesn’t.

“The least you could have done was call.” Her voice is void of all emotion.

“Yes, I could have,” I respond, leaning heavily on my hands; pressing them into the stone. “But this...this was a part of my past I could not exactly talk about, to anyone. Not even to Edward. It is complicated my love, but everything will be explained. Right now I need you to go downstairs and be with our children. What comes next will be a bit of a shock.”

Esme’s eyebrow arches but she does not reply. After a moment that seems like an eternity she pulls me into a hug, kisses my lips and nods her agreement; vanishing the way Bella had gone. I take a breath, pulling everything that is her essence into my lungs. Calm, collected, everything my family expects me to be. Shaking off the self-doubt and the fear of what could happen, I head down the hallway in the opposite direction. It is no surprise that Deja appears at my back as I re-enter the room I have spent most of this visit in.

A tiny yawn, a little hand stretching outside the blanket she is wrapped in. I lean over the crib and pull her into my arms. She adjusts herself within her cocoon and yawns again. I tuck in the excess of the blanket around her and with Deja as my shadow take to the hallway again. A few short steps and I am down the stairs through the dining room and out onto the veranda. My family is scattered, occupying themselves in their own way. Jarek and Viktor hurry up the veranda steps and come to stand with their mother at my back. Dragan appears in the doorway beside Deja. It is the only support they can offer.

“Carlisle?” Esme asks, her eyebrows knitted in confusion. “What is it?”

I beckon her to my side and she comes wordlessly, our children frozen in uncertainty. My wife’s face betrays her, as it always has, if only to me. A smile plays at the corners of her mouth as she cautiously leans in to see what is inside the small bundle in my arms. Joy spreads across her face in a way I have not seen since she held Renesmee for the first time. She holds out her arms and takes the child from me. Rocking her gently, traveling a few paces from me as our children crowd about to see. I stand rooted in place. 

“Her name is Amari,” Deja states, pulling everyone’s attention to her. 

“She’s not human,” Jacob mutters. Everyone turns to stare at Deja now, cautious of what exactly Amari is. I move forward and Deja with me, as I continue in her place.

“Amari, is my granddaughter...” I state exhaling slowly. “...Biologically.”

They study me, blank expressions on their faces. I look away unable to hold their gaze for long. I cannot imagine what they are all thinking, Esme especially. I have never told her I married in my life as a mortal, but then I didn’t exactly know myself until twenty-four hours ago. Still the betrayal she must be feeling threatens to send me reeling, but I hold my place.

“Carlisle?” Esme questions, hugging Amari to her chest. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I…” I couldn’t speak, overly ashamed of how weak I had been all those years ago.

“Please, do not be angry. There is a reason that Carlisle never spoke of this or of myself and my family,” Deja explains for me. “My Dragan has a special gift, that allows him to re-write memory or change it back as it once was. My family’s existence cannot be discovered, ever. Carlisle had to leave us, I knew that from the beginning. So when we sent him on his way, Dragan wrote us out of Carlisle’s memory; and by Carlisle’s request wrote Angelique Cullen’s memory out too. Dragan can remove the re-write at will, just in case something like this comes up where it is imperative someone remember us. Carlisle and Angelique’s marriage was an arranged one, they had no say. He loved her no more than she loved him but the marriage did produce a child. Carlisle never knew Angelique was pregnant before leaving the night he was bitten. Their child’s name was Rachel. It is her offspring that you hold in your arms. Her mate was destroyed, murdered by the Volturi for hiding her from them.”

I watch as recognition races across my wife’s face. I believe if she could cry she would have. A broken smile washes over her mouth and her head makes the slightest of nods. She has forgiven me, with no hesitation.

“Do the Vol-” Nessie begins.

“What do you see Alice?” Deja interrupts.

“N-no they do not.” Alice answers after a moment of searching. “They have sent a small party searching but they will not find her trail. Something clouds their tracking abilities...what it is I can’t see.”

“There is a different danger that comes with providing the child with a home,” Deja continues. “We have no idea what she’s going to be like, what she’s capable of. Whether the vampyre or the Sheeling side of the coin will take dominance or if they will balance out…..”

“Wait, what?” Rosalie asks.

“Amari’s father was a vampire and her mother a Sheeling. Angelique was apparently attacked by a small pack of them before giving birth to Rachel, and it changed them both,” I interject, Esme is studying my face again. ”Things could get complicated.”

“Complicated? Our whole existence is complicated.” Edward counters.

“She is part of this family, and _this_ family sticks together,” Bella adds, coming to stand beside Esme, wrapping her arms around my wife and Amari protectively.

”Bella’s right. Who better to raise her than us? We can teach her best how to use her vampire abilities and she has Jacob should the werewolf part of her rear it’s head, “ Alice offers, bouncing on the balls of her feet - behind her Jacob grunts. “Besides, it’s Esme’s turn for a baby.”

My wife’s face breaks into a smile again. Amari has grabbed her nose to pull her closer. And just like that the child is accepted. I have finally been able to give Esme that which she wants most, a true second chance at being a mother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	10. Departure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: No I don't own Twilight/New Moon/Eclipse/Breaking Dawn but I love living in their world.
> 
> Beta'd by idealskeptic. Please visit her page on FF.net at : http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1205456/idealskeptic
> 
> ****While I tried my best to be as clear as possible - I will reiterate here. All of Dragan's thoughts and speech are in russian, while Deja's speech changes as stated. - Thanks for understanding! Enjoy!!****

Chapter 10:

Departure

-Dragan-

I am...happy Carlisle’s family took the child’s existence so well. They will be leaving shortly and my nose and my mind can be at ease. My sons have been aloof since Amari was presented to her family. Viktor, untrusting boy that he is, isolated himself and Jarek in their living space. Jarek, if he possessed the strength would have objected; but he didn’t. I cannot blame Viktor for his over protective streak and I cannot blame him for the anger he has with me for letting his brother do something so foolish. He gets it honest, too much of me in him and not enough of his mother. 

I know they are both, in their own way, dealing the child leaving us. She seems to form an instant bond with everyone she comes in contact with and I find myself fighting my own sadness. I do not so much want, to see her go, but it is better she be with the Cullens. Their existence, though they move regularly, is more consistent; more lifelike than ours. They do not know it but they will not remember this as it happened. Deja and I discussed it before Carlisle arrived. Deja knew his family would follow him, already aware of Alice’s gift. 

I sigh, stalking the length of the veranda and back again. My sons left a few hours ago, Jarek caught wind of an uninvited guest crossing into our territory. They had left abruptly. No sense the intruder getting close enough for the mind listener to hear. That kind of confrontation is the last thing this situation needs. I study the swampy landscape, inhaling deeply. Just stagnant water, and the humming of bugs. How I miss the cold bite of the north. There is nothing there to distort a sound, or stifle a scent. I growl in frustration.

I do not know how much longer we can linger here. This is Deja’s home, and it has been for centuries, even before the settlers of France and Spain came. They, of course, brought stories of their homeland with them; and never bothered the “crazy” woman that lived alone in the swamp. The Creoles gave her an even wider birth; once the “crazy” woman became the “Voodoo Witch of the Southern Bayou” and had been seen with a companion that “stood two heads taller than any man, and breathed fire”. I chuckle, remembering how they completely believed I was a demon the “Voodoo Witch” had conjured up. It is odd now, to have the same families that once avoided us clinging to us like leeches. 

They are undeniably loyal, and in turn we supply them with resources to keep food on their families’ table. I cannot argue the arrangement is not perfect. My sons are healers after all. The Creoles that live here never have to leave the swamp and that’s how they prefer it. Still, I fear for their safety if we leave. Deja will, of course take the deed with her so that no one can take this land from our human friends; but there are other forces at work besides the greed of men. We keep the intruders at bay, our human camouflage kept safe by our own eating habits. They will not come to harm so long as we are here. 

The other issue is my sons. This swamp is all they have ever known; its people who accept them for what they are; the only human contact they have ever had. Where-ever we do end up I fear the headaches I will have due to the amount of memories I will have to change when they slip up. But they are my sons and I will do what I must to protect them; blinding pain or no. _Speaking of headaches._ I sigh again, rubbing my temples; grateful the mind listener cannot understand my thoughts. I do not envy the frustration my family must be dealing with. Where as I speak only my language unless pressed, and even then it is horribly broken; Deja and our children constantly change between the two. For Deja sometimes more depending on her mood. She had once cursed at me in ten different languages for ruining her finest Egyptian throw. I chuckle at the memory of how absurd it had sounded. The broken thoughts that Carlisle’s son is catching must be maddening.

The Cullens memories I am to change are many, and what I am to change them to even harder. On top of the problem with the one called Bella. Her mind is cast in an iron wall and she glances at me when I test her shield’s strength. She can tell when her privacy is being threatened. I realize. Carlisle told us all that had happened after Renesmee birth, explaining that none of the Volturi can affect Bella with their gifts. _Her memories are safe from Aro._ I confirm with myself, involuntarily spitting just thinking his name. But it changes nothing. Her memories must be changed just like the others. Her shield can be dropped if she chose. That alone makes keeping her memories dangerous. But how to get passed her shield? Another growl escapes the depths of my chest. 

The scent of musk and fresh rain surrounds me and pulls my gaze to the door of the house. A knowing smile rests on my wife’s lips. I hope she has come up with a better solution. My arms fold over my chest and I meet her piercing gaze. The woman is maddeningly quiet at times, and at the others you wish she never learned to speak. She shakes her head as if she can hear my thoughts, moving to stand before me.

“You worry too much you know,” she mutters patting my cheek. My eyes slip shut and I lean into her hand. The draw she has on me is nearly unfair. I sigh aggravated, as her hand slides from my cheek and onto my arm, “It will be a little longer until they leave.”

“So you only come to tell me I have more time to think,” I growl in my own tongue, turning from her, though every muscle in my body screams in disagreement.This is the first time she has vocally acknowledged my presence since Amari’s birth. As I said, the woman can be infuriating. My kind are overly jealous by nature but I feel like a foolish green teenager. All her time has been spent with everyone but me. The one called Alice berating her with questions. I can still hear the river of interrogation. How did you meet Carlisle? How did you know we would follow him? Is there a way to protect ourselves from Moon Fire? _Oh little Seer, if you only understood what our true nature is._ I think. _If you only understood just how easy it would be..._

“Dragan...” Deja sighs deeply, and my will crumbles; as it always has and always will. I turn back taking her in my arms. She forgives me of course and I feel it in her touch. How I wish my sons to feel this. How I wish my sons to finally understand the pull of their other part. Peace washes over my frustration and my tense muscles relax.

“Luchshe?(Better?)” she murmurs resting her forehead on the bridge of my nose.

“Da(Yes),” I reply, breathing her in again. The use of my language does not go unnoticed, and I feel the fire roaring through my veins begin to slow. She is the calming flame. The one who sets the pace. No matter how angry I become. How much rage builds inside me, she can calm it. I wonder if it is same for all of our kind. But there are not many to ask. The last time we came across others of our kind it had not been a pleasant experience. The scar that still remains on my shoulder stings at the reminder.

“I came to tell you, I have perhaps thought of a better way.” She whispers, aligning my hand with her own between us. Our way of speaking without speaking. Her voice fills my mind in my language. I smile, even the mind listener stands no chance of overhearing. _“Everything, from the moment their lawyer received my telephone call, it all must be erased and rewritten. Henri, their lawyer, make him the one they went to retrieve the child from. Their memory of the vision will need to be altered as well. Remove the memory she saw entirely. While I don’t know whose memory it belongs to it is much too dangerous for it to remain. Have her only have seen Henri had something for them. When they have returned home, Jarek can skry for them and you should have enough of a connection through the child to make the change.”_

_“Deja...this is too risky. I’ve never done something like this before. On this scale anyway...”_ I counter. _:And what of the mind listener’s mate and the human?”_

_“They have names Dragan.”_ she scolds. _“I have discussed things with Bella. She understands the risk to us by her knowing we exist even if her thoughts are masked from Aro. If it came down to protecting us or protecting her family she agrees on who she would choose. She is more than willing to bring down her defenses when the time comes. As for Henri we will make a trip to see him, just the two of us. It will work.”_

I cannot argue with her. If Deja says something will work, it will work. After a few thousand years of her always being right, you stop questioning. I run my finger along her jawline and nod my agreement. 

_“Are you going to tell me what the vision was about? ”_ I question. _“It seemed to unsettle you greatly.”_

_“She saw the death of a Sheeling. She saw something she wasn’t supposed to. Seers are only supposed to be able to see what’s in front never what’s behind. This could be very dangerous for her. If Alice’s power is evolving into what I think it is and that snake Aro discovers it, he will destroy all in his path to gain her.”_

_“The soldier he will not allow that.”_ I mutter. _“He is made of a different metal than the others.”_

_“He is but he cannot take on the entire Volturi coven on his own.”_ She answers exasperated. _“A very powerful Sheeling’s memory infected Alice with its moon fire...but alas I could not see who. Whoever it was though, suffered horrendously. I’m afraid Jasper went through much more pain than he admits. I fear for them. I fear for the child and what her future may hold. Her true nature must never be known. Not by her or by her family. As much as I do not wish to lie further, you must change what is known of her parents as well. We came across creatures of the wolfkins kind before. Do you think they still live?”_

_“Yes.”_ I reply.

_“Use that. It breaks none of their laws. The snakes will have no grounds to come after them.”_ Deja concludes breaking the connection and turning to take in the landscape, reverting to her adopted native tongue. “How is Jarek?” 

“Jarek is recovered. I should not have let him come with me...Viktor is not going to let him out of his sight for a decade.” I reply continuing in russian,. 

“He wants to be his own person so badly. The boy is bullheaded...like his father,” my wife teases. “Jarek is going to do what he wishes to do when he wishes to do it. And Viktor will chase behind like he always has. But no more sneaking off on adventures without Viktor in toe in future yes?”

“Yes.”

“Speaking of...where have they gotten off to?” She questions.

“Jarek, he sensed another one. It is the eighth time in three months that they have come running scared into our territory.” I answer. 

“What are we going to do, Dragan?” she whispers, pulling away from me enough to look up at me. “If it comes to leaving this place...”

“The boys will adjust,” I murmur, hugging her to my chest, sharing the burden of her sorrow. “He’s been gone for centuries Deja.”

“He’s always come back...,” her voice is thin, and I feel her quiver; my arms tightening about her again subconsciously. 

“There was always the possibility of him not coming back, love.” I remind her. “He was never truly happy here. He is wild by his nature, and was never meant to be tamed.”

“You envy him.” she points out.

“Yes and no.” I reply. “Envy that he is able to run the tundras without worry, but pity for him, that he will never know peace.”

“It pains me how much you miss your home.” she admits.

“Yes,” I agree, perching her chin on my finger. “But I said goodbye to the cold ages ago. You, Viktor and Jarek are my home now; no matter where we spend our existence.”

My wife’s beautiful smile, breaks across her pristine face; her eyes shining like stars. She pivots herself onto her toes and brushes my lips with her own. A massive shudder travels down my spine, another reminder just how much I am at her mercy. She hums, pleased with my reaction.

“There will be time for that later, Moya temnaya(My Dark one).” she sighs. “Come they are ready.”

I follow Deja into the still air of the house. The Cullens are gathered in the foyer, Amari wrapped snugly and securely in the arms of the one that she will know as mother. If not for the seriousness of this farewell I think I would be smiling. I duck my head slightly, and the mind listener’s wife responds in kind. I feel the growing absence of her shield as she dissolves it completely. I slip my way into each of their minds, setting the false memories in place, and slipping back out without being noticed. I bury the guilt deep within. No sense giving the soldier reason to be suspicious. 

My duty complete, I join Deja. She is telling Amari goodbye. The child, though only days old, comprehends much. Her little hand reaches out to me and I am compelled to place my finger in reach; as I had done the night she was born. I had after all been the first thing her eyes had seen when they opened. Her mind is as clear as glass and there is no resistance. For her there will be no replacement, only blurred images she will never see clearly. It is a better choice for someone so young. I feel soiled as it is altering this innocent creature. Warmth washes over me, and I know she understands this is goodbye, as her small mouth turns up in a grin. She lets go of my finger and is passed back to her surrogate mother. 

“The ferry man is waiting to take you back to the mainland,” Deja informs them, in english. “Your vehicles will be waiting of course, they have been well guarded since you left them.”

Goodbyes are kept short. The Cullens take off into the night quickly, dawn will break in a few hours. As they fade from both my sight and sense of smell; I breathe a little easier. _Goodbye little one._ I bid her silently.  
From somewhere beyond the unmistakable sound of howling drifts over the bayou. My sons have found their prey. Deja gives me a gentle nudge towards the swamp. She can feel my want to join them.

“No,” I sigh, shaking my head. “I will not leave you behind.”

“Who said anything about me staying behind?” she grins, dashing off into the wilderness. I chuckle in amusement before bounding off after her. My muscles quake, my bones shift as I barrel forward. My surroundings become sharper more vivid in the glow of the moonlight. The earth gives way under the thick pads of my paws. 

Deja and I will head off the intruder from the south. It won’t even know we are there until it is too late. I feel my mouth flood with liquid fire, at the smell of its fear and desperation. A prey’s fear almost tastes as good as the prey itself, almost. I break through the underbrush, knocking the intruder into a nearby tree; giving my sons the time they need to catch up. They are quick in their movements, pinning the creature to the ground. My wife moves forward, slashing open its throat, a small portion of her fire entering in through the wound. It would be quick, we were not malicious in our killings. It twitches and its eyes lose focus, the fire is spreading rapidly. I feel a small twinge of guilt for lying to Carlisle and his family but our true nature, what we and partially Amari, really are must remain a secret for eternity.

The soft crunch of Viktor severing its head from its body fuels my hunger; as the precious quicksilver flows free onto the ground. It is few and far between when my family shows their feral side, but for us, there really is no other way to feed properly. I sit back on my haunches and partake of the meal with them. Though I know I should, I cannot feel guilty for taking its life. _It is the law of the jungle. Survival of the fittest._ I reason, and my family growls in agreement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	11. Settling In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: No I don't own Twilight/New Moon/Eclipse/Breaking Dawn but I love living in their world.
> 
> Beta'd by idealskeptic. Please visit her page on FF.net at : http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1205456/idealskeptic

Chapter 11:

Settling In

-Amari-

Hush little baby don’t say a word,

Mama’s gonna buy you a mockingbird.

I like the one that sings to me. Sweet voice. She calls herself Mommy. _What is a mommy?_ I wonder. _Well, whatever a mommy is I like her. _I decide. She begins another song, humming quietly. I don’t like it when she does that, so I let out a squeak. She smiles, bouncing me softly, and begins my song again. I yawn, I wish she would sing forever. She says she loves me, and I am curious what that means. What is love? I feel all warm inside when she says it, so it must be something nice. I find myself wishing I could say it back to her. When I try it comes out garbled noises but it makes her laugh.

And if that mockingbird don’t sing.

Daddy’s gonna buy you a diamond ring.

I like the one that spoils me. He brings me new things all the time. My favorite is this small soft fuzzy thing that sings Mommy’s song. He seems to leave a lot but he always comes back. I wonder where he goes when he’s not here. He always smells funny when he comes back from where he’s been. Mommy always sends him away when he first appears. He’s not gone nearly as long though, and when he comes back he smells much better. And he holds me tight and tells me all about things I don’t understand. _What is a ostitle? What are urses?_ I don’t know. I just want him to keep talking. His voice is comfortable and I fit best in his arms. He’s my favorite, but don’t tell Mommy. I think that would make her sad. Mommy says he’s Daddy. I don’t know what a daddy is either, but I like him.

And if that diamond ring turns brass.

Rose is gonna buy you a looking glass.

I like the one who makes excuses to hold me. I like the long pretty golden thing that falls around me when she places messy kisses all over my face. When Mommy goes away, she is always here. She treats me like Mommy does. Rocks me and carries me everywhere. She says I’m pretty, that I’m special and tells me how I’m such a good girl. She makes me smile alot. But sometimes I feel she is hiding something. She tells me she is Rosalie, my big sister. _What’s a ig iser?_ There is sadness when she says this. I don’t know why. I don’t like it that she’s sad. I try to talk more when I am with her, but its just noises really. She seems to like that, and it makes her smile. I like it when she smiles.

And if that looking glass should break,

Bella’s gonna buy you a gold keepsake.

I like the one that reads to me. It is a quiet voice, and kind. I don’t know what she’s saying but its ok. I will someday. I like the brightly colored pictures that I see when she reads. I can’t really make them out yet but one day I will. She doesn’t talk that often outside of reading to me, but that’s ok. I love her silence. She is always calm, and her presence is soothing. She says she’s a mommy too, but not mine. She says she’s my sister Bella. _Be and Osie are the same thing?_

And if that gold keepsake don’t shine.

Jazz’s gonna buy you a christmas pine.

I like the one who makes the bad go away. Sometimes I wake up and I’m all alone. I don’t like that, so I cry. Mommy is always the first to find me, but sometimes I’m so upset even her singing doesn’t make it better. Then he comes. His voice is soft, like the one who reads, but different. I like how it sounds. He paces my room, rocking me gently. I feel a warm wave of security wash over me and suddenly I can’t remember why I am so upset. He calls me Lady Bug. I don’t know what that is, but I don’t care. I like the way it feels when he says it. He says he’s my big brother, Jasper. _What is a bober?_

And if that Christmas pine, don’t glow,

Emmett’s gonna buy you a bear skin throw.

I like the one who makes the world shake when he laughs. He is loud, but I don’t mind. Mommy doesn’t let him hold me a lot and that makes me sad. I love the feeling of his laugh. No matter where I am I can feel it when he does. I hope he never leaves. Mommy says he’s my big brother, Emmett! _How are E’et and Azber the same thing?_

And if that bear skin throw should fray,

Nessie’s gonna buy you a flower of May.

I like the one who shows me pictures. She never speaks, but shows me everything she wants to say. Sometimes when Daddy and Mommy aren’t here she will show me Mommy singing. I like it when she does that. She says she is both my niece and sister and that her name is Renesmee. She confides in me she prefers Nessie. But I don’t like it, it doesn’t feel right. When I’m able I’ll call her ‘En*. I overheard Mommy say her hair was the color of one. _But what is a eece? How can she be two things?_ I ponder. She says the one that reads to me is her Mommy. That makes me happy, but I don’t know why.

And if that flower of May don’t bloom,

Edward’s gonna buy you a pony in blue.

I like the one who plays music, Mommy likes him too. I think besides me, he is her favorite. He will play whenever she asks him to. He calls me little sister, and always seems to know what I want without me having to fuss too much. He says his name is Edward. Sometimes him and Mommy sing to me while he plays on the big black thing in front of us. One day I’ll sing with them too, I will like that.

And if that pony in blue falls down,

Alice’s gonna buy you the prettiest gown.

I like the one that knows what I want before I do. She always knows what’s wrong. She must know everything. She is always bringing me new...clothes? She calls them clothes that must be what they are. I like the clothes she brings me. They are soft and warm. She doesn’t have the long soft thing about her face, like the others that call themselves sisters, and Mommy, but I like it that way. I can make out her face a little better. She says that she’s my sister too! She says her name is Alice. I wonder why she’s different.

And if that pretty gown gets torn,

Jacob’s gonna buy you a ribbon unworn.

I am unsure of the one that never holds me. The one that never looks right at me. He is warm like 'En and I like that. He smells different than everyone else but not unpleasant. I like the way he smells. ‘En says his name is Jacob. _Why doesn’t he like me? I like him. Did I do something wrong?_

And if that unworn ribbon gets curled,

You’ll still be sweetest baby in world.

I wonder who I am. Is that what sister and Lady Bug are? Is that who I am? Is that what I am called? I yawn. Mommy has stopped singing again. I try to squeak but I’m just so tired. I wiggle around trying to get comfortable. _Who am I?_ I wonder to myself as my thoughts get fuzzy. I am lifted and laid gently on a soft furry blanket. It smells like the one who laughs.__

__“Good night, Amari.” Mommy whispers. “Sweet dreams.”_ _

___Amari...is that me?_ I hope it is. I like the way it sounds. I like...no, I love everything about where I am. I hope it stays this way forever and ever. But where did the others go? The ones that were there when I came out of the darkness. I try to remember, but all I see is blurry. Wait...where did who go? Mommy? No she’s still here, everyone is still here...who is missing? No one. Everyone is here. Mommy,Daddy,Osie,Be, Azber, E’et, En, Edber,Ize,and Cub. That’s all there is. Right? I yawn again, as Mommy moves something and soft white light pours over me. Now all is ok and I can go to sleep. _What was it Mommy said? Eet deams?_ I yawn knowing I got it right. _Eet deams, Mommy...__ _

__

__* ‘En = Ren. Amari overhears Esme saying that Renesmee’s hair reminds her of a Wren._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Fin-
> 
> Thank you to everyone that has read this fiction!! :) 40 hits at completion...yet no comments or kudos...i have no idea if this completely sucked or not lol.
> 
> Coming Soon :
> 
> Of the Moon and Sun : Part 2 : Growing Up

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


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